dvampyrlestat | Backtracking...Without Borders...

I remember a time when Yamada Tarou and Hanazakari no Kimitachi e was on the same season....(I think I just made that sound so long ago) and there were other dramas worth checking out....

I am not watching anything with as much fervour at the moment. Aside from GALILEO (which I decided to watch when it finished its run...not feeling the urge to rush with it), I would have wanted IRYU 2, but I am not seeing subs anywhere, and my Japanese comprehension is still up to "here". Throw in medical jargon, and you might as well consider me dead. As for SP....Hmmm....*crosses fingers for subs*

So I decided to backtrack.

Right now I am watching KimuTaku's BEAUTIFUL LIFE, this stemming from my fascination after seeing Tokiwa Takako in LONG LOVE LETTER (another backwards foray for need of any Kubozuka Yosuke project. I tell ya, this guy CAN act!) Still in Episode 3, but I can see why many people liked it. I hope to finish watching it before December ends.

I know, I know, everyone's probably seen it already, but I only just saw the TW drama MARS starring F4's Vic Zhou and Barbie Xu. I've read the manga months before and thought it was a wonderfully told story, but only got around to watching anything Taiwanese. I was blown away. I mean, I have seen Vic Zhou before in Meteor Garden, and I admit to having been suckered into the MG wave when it hit our shores, but I was not as taken with the character of Hua Ze Lei as I was with, say, Oguri Shun's Hanazawa Rui. At that time, I was more focused on Jerry Yan's Dao Ming Si. Granted. Vic showed promise as an actor at that time. But I was way too young then.

And then I saw him in SILENCE, where I grudgingly relented and agreed he has grown as an actor. But MARS was pre-SILENCE. And when I saw him as Chen Li (or Rei in the manga) in MARS, I was dumbstruck. It was a complete turnaround from Hua Ze Lei. Dude. He is an actor.

Now I only wish Japan makes a drama out of this. I mean, it won't be the first, anyway. HYD, Hana Kimi, yaddayaddayadda. Already I have cast Rei in my head: Mizushima Hiro. Gawd. I miss him terribly! As for the role of Kira, it's fair game. Nothing against Erika Toda, and I liked her immensely in Liar Game, but please, not her.

Speaking of F4....remember Ken Chu? Haven't seen him in a while. But he's made a film with a Filipina actress (whom I totally adore) Iza Calzado (who also finished filming THE ECHO with Jesse Bradford. She's THAT good, and beautiful, too.

I've seen the trailer, and boy, I am looking forward to it. Unpatriotic as this may sound, I think most Filipino films suck, except a handful ones, which are indies that are not recognized here but reaps awards in film festivals abroad.

Anyway, I digress.

The title is BATANES: Sa Dulo ng Walang Hanggan (translates to "Batanes: The End of ....the neverending/forever"...it's an oxymoron, and a Filipino idiom.). Batanes is that island at the northernmost tip of the Philippines, closest to Taiwan.

Anyway, this is a good treat for F4 fans, if only to see Ken....or from the trailer, I'd say it's a very promising film. I think I'd give it a shot when it is shown here on Dec. 5.

Ken with Glaiza de Castro and Iza Calzado. credits to www.igma.tv

Trailer here: ROUGH CUT

So the holidays is just around the corner, right? But in the case of Filipinos, Christmas has already begun as early as September (when the "-ber (brrr) months" came in). We're probably the earliest to observe that season. And the latest to end it (at around end of January, practically ends when Valentine's Day comes in).

That's not where weird ends. We pardon our former President (jailed for plunder), a blast kills a solon IN FRONT of the Congressional building, the administration claims the Philippine Peso is growing stronger when it actually IS the American Dollar weakening.....

Enough. Sorry. I didn't mean to go there. :)

Backtracking...Without Borders...

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