On one hand; I've always thought it looks weird when someone in Sweden _fills_ their home with things from China (or any other country/culture). Having things as part of the mix is one thing - but letting it be dominant... naah.
OTH: I wonder if I can find similar dragons at Alibaba?
(Edit: story in toot below)
Wang Ye wearing only a towel off camera. A+ acting - if it is acting.
Seriously, how do you cast for roles like Wang Ye? Does the casting agent keep a list of C-drama land cutiepies, with marks for the ones comfortable showing skin, and then just grabs the one who happen to be free at the moment?
Utterly wild jackets and cardigans seem to be high (expensive) fashion for men in China rn. So Wang Ye's jacket isn't a thrift store find* - it marks him as jet setter.
(*To people of my age it would be, but before any of my peers feel superior; our generation bought jeans with ready-made holes.)
*snrk!* Like I said... but I've sworn to ice box the b-word for a while, so let's just say Wang Ye is raking his father over coals. (Aaaand Neo Hou will soon star in a classical historical romance - at least it looks like that - so we may have to savour these scenes.)
Producer: I want the light to shine through the windows so we get dramatic shadows...
Location scout: Mhm...
Producer: ...and I want Zhang Zhiwei's reflection in the window.
Location scout *suddenly remembering some basic physics*: Errrr...
Producer: It's _symbolism_!
Location scout: *sigh* We'll fix it in post...
(They did their best by having the bottom part of the pane in deep shadow, because it is, indeed, good symbolism.)
We're not in Heng Dian World Studios anymore! While it is possible to weather sets the carvings are a bit too detailed - HDWS does great work, but they err on using modern materials and reducing complexity. I wonder which old temple had to bear a drama production for days?
Ok, normally I start rooting for the Bad Guy when the plot gets too dumb, but that's not the case here. The plot is good. But the sheer ambition of Sinister Pleasure bringing a _band_ to their riot, with both traditonal Chinese instruments, Western ones, and a pianist (not in picture)...
...Sorry Good Guys! I'm with the grand piano!
Real fire or not - I suspect that inside every vfx person there's a 10yr old who wants to do explody stuff.
I mean... I do...
(Not sure about this scene, but so far production seems to have combined digital overlays with on-site practical effects - ie. double bang for the buck.)
It's a crap pic because it's a crap still - the fight is so fast paced I have a hard time getting something not-blurry. But I am impressed by the vfx in this drama, especially here where the lightning shoots chunks of dirt out of the ground. Could it be better? By a _small_ margin yes; China is levelling up fast, and most of it is totally agreeable.
I feel I'm overusing this word, but... just for the last time*
ONE GIGANTIC BITCH SLAP _COMING IN HOOOOT_!!!
(*because that brat, _that_ brat, deserved it)
and it belts out a roar,
that's a moray
This is the third actor* I sample a scary face from. I think I'll make a special folder for them and use them for drawing practices - it's bound to be more. And yes, I'm serious; _good_ scary faces are hard.
(*Neo Hou in this case, the other two are Ryan Ding and Cheng Yi.)
(Eye contact in pic)
Feng Baobao is taking no chances with Wang Ye, I see. I have never seen the correct configuration, so I hope there's some safety loops somewhere, because with a rope tied like this it tightens around the neck for every move the tied person tries to get lose.
I have mixed feelings; production should have forked up for more extras in the audience - it looks straight up anemic for a competition like this. But this fight is (unironically) epic, so I guess they saved their coins for special effects. And this is one of those stories that needs those Vibes of OP Awesomeness, so I'm not sure what's the right balance.
Looks like Xiao Xiao has one fan he's really close to.
I've only seen him in three dramas, so my sample size is way too small, but doesn't it look like Neo Hou
•prefers weird dramas over, say, historically accurate ones
•and migrate towards roles where he gets to play a little bitch
?
Eavesdropping, a time honoured tradition in C-drama land. Being discrete, not so much.
I'm burning midnight oil. I feel called out.
For some reason I tried to pinpoint this flashback in history (it's apparent from the qipao at the beginning - I think my brain tried too hard at digging up old academic knowledge from the archives), this line should be enough. While a lot of things in the drama is exagerated for genre style, it's hard to do it here - the Warlord era in the 1920s kinda' was like that.
There's a strong Harry Potter* vibe to I Am Nobody, especially with the contest Zhang Chulan and Baobao competes in. And seen from that angle I like that the Outsiders are completly aware of the normal world and effortlessly use its tech. They also have modern designs for their magical food, like the "qi enhancing" beverage in the background.
(*not a fan of drawing that parallell, but the franchise did steamroll the fantasy genre)
