tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2372357273447571321.post9149398356462039445..comments2012-02-22T02:12:55.528+08:00Funn Limhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03507964409824603465noreply@blogger.comBlogger55125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2372357273447571321.post-34867522039034658112012-02-22T02:12:55.528+08:002012-02-22T02:12:55.528+08:00i am over halfway through this series, and while i like it very much, man it&#39;s slooooooow. been looking online everywhere for spoilers so i can skim through some of the episodes. great blog post.<br /><br />btw, am i the only one who thinks liu shi shi is very, very pretty? kind of in an understated way. like when it&#39;s just her on screen, i get bored of her face. but compared to the other girls, i notice how delicate and dainty her features are. only complaint is her face powder is too white, which makes her look like she&#39;s wearing a mask in artificial lighting. she&#39;s gorgeous when she smiles, too. funny thing, i was thinking she looked like ruby lin in a three quarter profile too. but from the front, the top half of her face reminds me so much of athena chu. i wonder if they changed her make up as the series went on though, as i do think she aged quite a bit gradually. or am i just bored of her pretty face?<br /><br />anyway, on episode 25, and still not in love with the nicky/shi shi coupling yet. when does it start to get good? i didn&#39;t like the kevin/shi shi pair off either. was more interested in the idea of ruo lan finally giving 8th a chance, but no, of course not. 14th is a bore.<br /><br />random musings<br />2nd brother/ex-crown prince looks hella like hung chiu fung<br /><br />ming yue reminds me of vicki zhao and grace wong. annie liu also reminds me of vicki zhao in profile.<br /><br />that kiss between ruoxi and 8th in the meadow was super corny. why did they need to roll around like that??<br /><br />whenever 4th approaches ruoxi from afar, she takes like 10 minutes to turn her head towards him. a modern person would never do that. they&#39;d snap their head towards his direction in 0.5 milliseconds flat. what a waste of time.<br /><br />i hate the dubbed voices for nicky and kevinAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2372357273447571321.post-20635568240919754102012-02-16T10:17:03.604+08:002012-02-16T10:17:03.604+08:00Funn, just finished 1st episode. You should have told me this has a similar premise to A Step Into the Past, which is one of my favourite TVB series. Would have watched it months ago, haha!Bridgethttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11545449528779069794noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2372357273447571321.post-25013957269372231292012-02-15T14:53:20.461+08:002012-02-15T14:53:20.461+08:00Strange, no proper review for this series yet.Funn Limhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03507964409824603465noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2372357273447571321.post-26258893665446211282012-02-15T14:47:43.762+08:002012-02-15T14:47:43.762+08:00&quot;Kevin&#39;s longing to find true love...is he a character that is in love with love itself&quot;<br /><br />Not that deep! He is in love with his cefujin. She hates him. So he channels his love to the sister, Ruoxi who looks like her. One scene where Ruoxi was asked if she knew how to ride a horse and he looked very excited at the answer, and she said no and he looked crestfallen. That is because Ruolan is very good at horseriding, he first saw her when she was riding a horse, carefree, happy, he fell for that girl. So he is madly in love with Ruolan, Ruoxi I suppose is like a floating device. He loves her, but not madly.<br /><br /><br />&quot;From Kevin&#39;s initial interactions with Liu Shi Shi, they appear to be on the border of grief every time they are together, brows knitted in worry of the next separation, of the bleak future, etc&quot;<br /><br />Actually not really. It was puppy love, that sort of love without restraint, without worry. The grief part is more like her and 4th prince, where they are more reserved, they can&#39;t be as free.Funn Limhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03507964409824603465noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2372357273447571321.post-44752027232416452562012-02-15T11:56:08.681+08:002012-02-15T11:56:08.681+08:00I just watched the official trailer of Bu Bu Jing Xin and can&#39;t wait for the future scenes to come, especially the developing romance between Nicky and Liu Shi Shi. The trailer clips triggered an emotional response from me (thanks to Nicky&#39;s heartfelt acting), which the initial 7 episodes did not do.<br /><br />The episodes that I have seen thus far are quite weak in narrative structure, consisting mainly of the heroine&#39;s fleeting impressions of the various princes, setting the stage for things to come. Thus the mood is too pensive, too melancholy and the ramblings a bit too whimsical, bordering on flowery....<br /><br />But I am looking forward to Nicky opening up his heart more, unveiling his passion and subsequent rage.<br /><br />Kevin&#39;s longing to find true love...is he a character that is in love with love itself, as something that we chase in life and become obsessed with it, simply because it is elusive? A sort of dream that one finds strength (yet tortuous) to keep us going? He seems to live in constant grief, from his unhappy marriage to his first wife, pining for Annie Liu&#39;s forgiveness and love, and finally pining for Liu Shi Shi. <br /><br />From Kevin&#39;s initial interactions with Liu Shi Shi, they appear to be on the border of grief every time they are together, brows knitted in worry of the next separation, of the bleak future, etc. <br /><br />Btw, I don&#39;t find &quot;Dream of the Red Mansions&quot; to be punishing, despite the tragic ending of the characters. Rather, a full range of the characters&#39; emotions are portrayed, from their carefree teenage years, yearning for romantic love, unrequited love, regret, and finally letting go (and this is only Jia Baoyu&#39;s emotions). I enjoyed the other relationships of the rest of the cousins and household. The canvas is richly populated with diverse human emotions. <br /><br />Finally, the metaphor that life is a dream and the idea of reincarnation lends some respite to the tragic downfall of the household. The Buddhist awakening of Jia Baoyu&#39;s character reminds us that all suffering comes to an end and even if some of the characters died in the present life, hopefully they will find better peace in their after lives. In this manner, I didn&#39;t find &quot;Dream of the Red Mansions&quot; to be punishing, but rather hopeful and relaying the message of &quot;the world is bigger than what is before your eyes if you look beyond yourself.&quot;Jaynenoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2372357273447571321.post-14073592423546917882012-02-15T10:16:49.218+08:002012-02-15T10:16:49.218+08:00Jayne,<br /><br />&quot;Kevin&#39;s lingering glances seem to be of longing hurt.&quot;<br /><br />Yes you&#39;re very right! He is a person who uses smile to disguise his true feelings. What he says does not correspond to how he feels, therefore his hypocrisy. 4th prince is a person who says what he thinks or he doesn&#39;t speak at all, therefore more honest. Which is why in the end she fell for him.<br /><br />But I do feel she has a higher standard for the 8th prince than for the 4th prince. But then by then a few years have passed between her switching of loyalty so as a person matures our standard or expectation is different I suppose.<br /><br />I dislike 14th as opposed to fans&#39; general opinion. I find him childish till the end.Funn Limhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03507964409824603465noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2372357273447571321.post-77105723456711530582012-02-15T10:14:12.725+08:002012-02-15T10:14:12.725+08:00Jayne, Dreams of red mansion? Isn&#39;t that a bit too punishing?<br /><br />Yes the actress is inconsistent. She is supposed to be 25 and she acts like well.. young girl. Anyway after a while I forgot she is from the future since her mannerism makes no reference to that in later episodes. However the thing you mentioned is not inconsistent. She is willful, yes and she is also a person from the future; so she has a modern woman&#39;s reservation. My criticism of her is she does not act like an adult trapped in a girl&#39;s body; she is more like that girl. I find that extremely annoying.<br /><br />The sensuality is in that stolen kiss scene and the way he stares at her, much like how darcy stares at elizabeth. It is an idea; that is he can be very quiet and yet innately passionate whilst Kevin is a bit like casual lover so to speak. That sort of sensuality. This series never really delved into the idea of sex but we can all presume.Funn Limhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03507964409824603465noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2372357273447571321.post-17805517599741134282012-02-15T06:05:08.011+08:002012-02-15T06:05:08.011+08:00I watched 7 episodes of Bu Bu Jing Xin at my parents&#39; house in one sitting. The movement of the show is a bit slow sometimes, but beautifully filmed. Watching the show is like reading a long, leisurely novel which captures the heroine&#39;s rambling thoughts regarding the princes. I find the love (thus far) to be of restraint and melancholiness, none of the sensuality that Funn mentioned. Maybe it will come later?<br /><br />My thoughts so far:<br /><br />Kevin Cheng and Annie Liu too pensive for my liking. His casual smiles in the early episodes may disguise his inner hurt. Kevin&#39;s lingering glances seem to be of longing hurt.<br /><br />Nicky Wu hasn&#39;t made too many appearances in the early episodes that I have watched.<br /><br />The 13th Prince may possess more of the straightforward and positive attitudes of a modern gentleman. Less depressing than Kevin&#39;s character and mysterious than Nicky.<br /><br />Is the characterization of Liu Shi Shi&#39;s inconsistent or the actress&#39; performance at fault? In the early episodes, she appears to be quite impulsive and getting into physical fights, while at other moments she appears to have deep, mature reflective thoughts about the inequality of women, lack of free will, etc.<br /><br />The mood thus far is a bit too melancholy for my liking. The most romantic scene thus far was Nicky taking Liu Shi Shi out riding in the moonlight (though the fake CG screen almost ruined it) and stealing a kiss. <br /><br />I like the metaphor of one finding freedom while horseback riding. Many of the characters seem to find release and exhilaration when they are riding outdoors.<br /><br />If the drama is true to the novel, I think I may like &quot;Dream of the Red Mansions&quot; (紅樓夢) more.Jaynenoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2372357273447571321.post-24721432344472680152012-02-14T01:06:19.377+08:002012-02-14T01:06:19.377+08:00Bridget..<br /><br />*grabs shoulder*<br /><br />Bridget...<br /><br />*shakes back and forth*<br /><br />BRIDGETTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTT<br /><br />*shakes left and right*<br /><br />Have I ever, ever, ever been wrong? Ok maybe I have but was I right about Galileo? Was I? If you must watch a Mainland China production, please stop picking up that Romance of 3 Kingdoms, banish Water Margin, put JTTW away for later and just go straight for the beautiful men version of the Qing Dynasty saga. Bu Bu Jing Xin I GUARANTEE will at least impress you in any one of these 3 factors;<br /><br />1. costume/set<br />2. the story<br />3. 13th prince/4th prince combo or 8th prince/14th prince combo<br /><br />Either way, Nicky Wu&#39;s first appearance will leave you wanting more. Maybe you will even like the girl also, I don&#39;t know. But I am damn sure you will love no. 1. But I feel at the end you will be very involved with no. 2 and will be arguing about no. 3.<br /><br />All I ask is<br /><br />a. watch in HD TV, PLEASE!<br />b. know mandarin at least those lovey dovey scenes. Anything else you can ask me I will explain in detail if I must!<br />c. be very patient from episodes 25 to 32. Do not skip, just go through it!<br />d. prepare lots and lots of tissue. You will cry or at least pretend not to cry at some point.<br /><br />I hardly need to say it is one of the most frustrating, effective, affecting, romantic, sensual love story ever written. The time travelling is minimum factor. There are faults, it is slow, compared to TVB, it is snail slow but not as single minded sort of story like korean series or as flippant and casual as a japanese series or the acting as terrible as taiwanese idol drama series and it is not Qiong Yau series at all. It is in the end a very moving tragic love story. And you might like Kevin more in here or fall for Nicky but my heart is set on Yuan Hong&#39;s 13th prince, never cared for 14th much.<br /><br />But before, you must read a little about kangxi-yongzheng reign to know a bit of background. Get the conspiracies right. And then discard them all away because this is not a historical drama. It is a idol drama. Period. But I tell you, after you watch this, you will realise TVB has cheapen themselves. Not even any budget spent on that Cursed series can ever compare to the attention to detail in the costume, cinematography (except those freaky blue screen scenes which almost always involve Nicky Wu) and the art of storytelling. After this, you may want to see more Mainland China series and that&#39;s when I shall recommend, if you haven&#39;t seen, my idea of a perfect series (got faults but min) that is Yong Zheng Wang Chao where you see same characters but different perspectives and someone has been busy copying from another!! But before you move to YZWC, I want you to fall in love with<br /><br />1. qing dynasty<br />2. mainland china production<br />3. yongzheng<br /><br />because if you don&#39;t love all 3, you will never get past episode 1 of YCWZ and you will never move to Kang Xi Di Guo and according to my sis, Qian Lung Wang Chao was as excellent.<br /><br />In other words Bridget, treat yourself to the meaning of sumptous production; BBJX is the first step. And in terms of looks, after BBKX, everything else pales in comparison but acting of course, there are others much better of course.<br /><br />So what are you waiting for?!Funn Limhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03507964409824603465noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2372357273447571321.post-76809476424453159472012-02-14T00:47:09.190+08:002012-02-14T00:47:09.190+08:00Should I watch this??? I just don&#39;t knowwwwww anymore! Funn, please show me the light. ;)Bridgethttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11545449528779069794noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2372357273447571321.post-10894544600151814772012-01-30T17:28:02.686+08:002012-01-30T17:28:02.686+08:00BBJXfan,<br /><br />&quot;Thanks for the info, Funn! I&#39;m in sg where there&#39;s also a 5 DVD version. The shop assistant claims the 7 DVD version has inconsistent sound level problem.&quot;<br /><br />Singapore? Then you must have the 9 dvd version? Anyway 7 DVD is China so you can just guess you need to have a bit of luck. 5 DVD? Never heard of that. Probably not official stuff and imagine, all HD into 5 DVDs? I suppose they&#39;re DVD9 discs, if not I can only imagine the picture quality. I think if such is the case, best bet is locally released versions.<br /><br />Kidd,<br /><br />&quot;BBJX modern version? Will all the princes be there?&quot;<br /><br />Rumour has it starting filming end of this year. I read the important ones will be in it, 4, 8, and such. My bet is crown prince won&#39;t be in it, no. 9 not sure, no. 10, maybe? Frankly I don&#39;t know. <br /><br />Helen,<br /><br />Yes I am still around and forever will be! 2004 eh? That&#39;s a long time ago! How come you found me again?!Funn Limhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03507964409824603465noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2372357273447571321.post-61836796413082021172012-01-30T15:24:22.476+08:002012-01-30T15:24:22.476+08:00Hello Funn! <br /><br />Just popping by to say Hi. Didn&#39;t know you are still active online! <br /><br />We spoke a bit before once (emails) back in 2004, haha. Long time ago...! Fellow SPCnet forumer here, think we met on one of Fann drama&#39;s thread.<br /><br />Glad to see ya still around. Will be sure to visit often now :)<br /><br />Helen / helkel :)Helen / helkelnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2372357273447571321.post-70869802727426376632012-01-30T14:10:06.521+08:002012-01-30T14:10:06.521+08:00BBJX modern version? Will all the princes be there?Kiddnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2372357273447571321.post-11845334748823406832012-01-30T02:51:38.732+08:002012-01-30T02:51:38.732+08:00Thanks for the info, Funn! I&#39;m in sg where there&#39;s also a 5 DVD version. The shop assistant claims the 7 DVD version has inconsistent sound level problem.bbjxfannoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2372357273447571321.post-51146153126331539492012-01-29T03:13:14.656+08:002012-01-29T03:13:14.656+08:00Much apologies. I made some mistakes on the number of DVDs but the comment applies.<br /><br />7 DVD - H DVD version<br />http://www.yesasia.com/global/startling-by-each-step-h-dvd-end-china-version/1025015465-0-0-0-en/info.html<br /><br />8 DVD - just found this - Taiwan version - DVD 5 - not good<br />http://www.yesasia.com/global/startling-by-each-step-dvd-end-taiwan-version/1026058050-0-0-0-en/info.html<br /><br />9 DVD - English subtitled version<br />http://www.zoommovie.com/china-drama/scarlet-heart-hd-version/dvd-6597<br /><br />12 DVD - collector&#39;s box<br /><br /><br />14 DVD - normal version (the one with muted episodes I mentioned)<br />http://www.yesasia.com/global/startling-by-each-step-dvd-end-china-version/1025015459-0-0-0-en/info.html<br /><br />Yesasia should carry the 7 and 14 DVD version. And from their prices, woahh... exceedingly overpriced.Funn Limhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03507964409824603465noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2372357273447571321.post-47740686124662501722012-01-29T03:01:57.254+08:002012-01-29T03:01:57.254+08:00By the way all versions are 35 episodes (no cut scenes, etc) but none comes with special features like Behind The Scenes, etc, which is disappointing. I would expect collector&#39;s box to have that but it didn&#39;t.Funn Limhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03507964409824603465noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2372357273447571321.post-41198747016593450002012-01-29T02:55:41.340+08:002012-01-29T02:55:41.340+08:00BBJXfan,<br /><br /><br />Hi! As a general guideline, the lower the number of DVDs will indicate more episodes crammed into a single disc. All the sets I believe is DVD9, since the released version is HD version and you can cram HD versions into mere 14 discs, especially on ethat is 35 episodes. But frankly there isn&#39;t much difference in quality in terms of picture. I notice the mp4 versions I downloaded still look amazing onscreen. But the difference may be in the sound. The TV version I am watching is as if the background sound is way too loud. But the DVDs I bought, the sound is either muted (which is bad) or balanced well (which is ideal). <br /><br />Right now in market there is a 7 DVD, 9 DVD, 12 DVD and 14 DVDs version if I am not mistaken. Lesser DVD is cheaper. All versions are HDVD as in DVD9s, all picture quality if HD versions although in lesser discs the picture quality is a bit blur but seriously better quality than those older releases. Depending on where you&#39;re, none of these have English subtitles except for the 9 DVD version which is available in Malaysia. The box is nice, not sure of the subtitle quality but the company releasing that version is ok I suppose. Expect simple translation, some misspelling and some grammar mistake but overall I do believe subtitle qualities these days are good as in understandable and readable. If you know Chinese, then my recommendation is you can get the non English subtitled version because they&#39;re cheaper. especially the 7 DVD version.<br /><br />14 DVD is the first one I bought and you have to be very careful. The version I got, the first 7 Discs all sound were rather muted as in low. I was very frustrated. You have to take a chance since it could be because of the one box I bought. The ripped DVDs online didn&#39;t have that problem.<br /><br />If you have the money, if you can understand Chinese well and really like the gifts, get the collector&#39;s box which is expensive unless you&#39;re in China, buying in Taobao is cheaper. That is the only version that comes with the OST and other gifts.<br /><br />I am not sure if the OST is released individually at all. <br /><br />You can say the only difference between collector&#39;s box (14 discs) and normal box (12 discs) are the promotional items and the box&#39;s look. Both are thick hard box, pretty good thing since your discs won&#39;t be crushed and all. However like I said you run the risk of buying defective sound goods.<br /><br />I have watched the collector&#39;s box version, the DVDs are ok, not defective and yes they&#39;re HD and sound is good. If you can check, then make sure you check each disc is without scratches and not burnt looking because if they&#39;re burnt looking it will mean that disc will be defective and your DVD player won&#39;t play those episodes. Moreover collector&#39;s box DVDs discs are stored in a better quality DVD pouch (sort of) than the normal one. I am really not sure about the 7 and 9 DVD versions though.<br /><br />My recommendation is if you must want subtitles, then go for the Scarlet Heart 9 DVD version. If you have the cash and really want the gifts as well as quality, then the collector&#39;s box is the best choice. If you want low cost, 7 DVD version is the one since I heard it is being sold in Malaysia in dirt cheap prices.<br /><br />I hope the above is helpful.<br /><br /><br />P/S : The muted sound was the 14 DVD version. And don&#39;t buy from yesasia because they&#39;re about 50% more expensive unless you can&#39;t find the DVD in your country. If you&#39;re in Malaysia, just pop into any Speedy video or video shops, you can find the 7 DVD, 9 DVD and 12 DVD version. you can only get the collector&#39;s box from taobao or China websites. All are region free so no worries if they&#39;ll play on your DVD.Funn Limhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03507964409824603465noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2372357273447571321.post-1168803973025419772012-01-29T02:33:44.610+08:002012-01-29T02:33:44.610+08:00Btw, you mentioned the first DVD set you bought has muted sound on the first few DVDs. Can you tell me which version this is (I searched YesAsia and they carry a few editions so I don&#39;t know which one you meant) so I can avoid it. Thanks.bbjxfannoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2372357273447571321.post-8916537214914639942012-01-29T02:18:21.121+08:002012-01-29T02:18:21.121+08:00Hi, I&#39;m also debating which dvd set to get as I want to get the best picture and sound quality possible. Have you heard anything more about the quality of the english subs on the Multimedia set? Any difference between the 12 DVD and the 14 DVD set other than the packaging and promotional items? Does the 14 DVD set come with the soundtrack too? Have you finished watching your collector set (any defective discs)?bbjxfannoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2372357273447571321.post-72842869243369941402012-01-05T19:36:16.853+08:002012-01-05T19:36:16.853+08:00http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gNjkA02V0Fk&amp;NR=1&amp;feature=endscreen<br /><br />so happy to see them duetLily Liurencyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04134987854248820356noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2372357273447571321.post-31291199002593405372011-12-08T16:49:14.689+08:002011-12-08T16:49:14.689+08:00Then I won&#39;t say more except I find it rather sad at first and then cute the next. Should be either ep 9 ish or 15 or something lar!<br /><br />And this is also where I began to dislike Ruoxi.Funn Limhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03507964409824603465noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2372357273447571321.post-44600759156634543482011-12-08T16:46:43.038+08:002011-12-08T16:46:43.038+08:00Not yet. I&#39;m extremely sloowww in watching this. :PKiddnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2372357273447571321.post-4061232494900840442011-12-08T16:29:48.955+08:002011-12-08T16:29:48.955+08:00&quot;Why is Nicky Wu stepping on LSS? I know it&#39;s an NG playful scene. But, what is that scene supposed to be? LSS falling down and Nicky picking her up?&quot;<br /><br />It&#39;s not even an NG scene but I think they were just being playful. Have you reached this scene? Originally he was standing beside her as she was on the groun crying and no. 13 out of camera. I suppose during in between takes, they were just goofing around with LSS looking like she was being bullied, NW the bully and YH meditating or whatever. I really like the comraderie of these guys.Funn Limhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03507964409824603465noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2372357273447571321.post-46329745625365823192011-12-08T16:20:01.338+08:002011-12-08T16:20:01.338+08:00Why is Nicky Wu stepping on LSS? I know it&#39;s an NG playful scene. But, what is that scene supposed to be? LSS falling down and Nicky picking her up?Kiddnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2372357273447571321.post-78075433039519444702011-11-30T15:07:16.414+08:002011-11-30T15:07:16.414+08:00Kidd, Elaine Yiu? No lar! Where got?! She is prettier and more graceful looking than Elaine Yiu but then this is her best picture so far frankly. Normally she looks... well, normal I suppose.<br /><br />I don&#39;t know Kidd, tempted to hit the record button just to see it in full HD glory. I still haven&#39;t checked the DVD. I feel I may just jinx the tapes; some may jump jump and all. So scared. But love the cards, the mousepad, the poster, the OST (especially the OST) and everything else!!Funn Limhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03507964409824603465noreply@blogger.com