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Here is my wish list...
Batman Arkham Asylum
Best Buy - $39.99
Router
D-Link Wireless N 150 Router (DIR-601) @ Best Buy/Futureshop - $29.99
Belkin N150 Enhanced Wireless N Router (F5D8236-4) @ Best Buy - $29.99
Belkin Wireless N Router [300 Mbps] (F5D8236tt4) @ Futureshop - $34.99
HDMI Cable
1.8m (6') @ Superstore - $6.99
SLR Camera
Nikon D3000 SLR w/ 18-55mm lens and 55-200mm lens both non-VR and Bag @ London Drugs - $549.98Nikon D3000 SLR w/ 18-55mm lens non-VR @ Best Buy - $449.99
Nikon 55-200mm lens non-VR @ Best Buy - $119.99
Nikon D3000 SLR w/ 18-55mm lens non-VR @ Futureshop - $449.99
Drill
Jobmate 18 V cordless Ni-Cad @ Canadian Tire - $34.99
Hopefully the snowfall amounts are reasonable...I plan on heading out to BB/FS first to pick up the game and router, both stores open at 6 AM. Then I'll head to Superstore on Grant which opens at 7 to get the HDMI cable. Next I'll head down to London Drugs at St. Vital which opens at 9 AM to pick up the SLR camera.
With school and everything, it has been a while since I've written a review but here goes...
The Cast - 5/5
Tavia Yeung as Yiu Kam-ling (姚金鈴)
Chamaine Sheh as Lau Sam-ho (劉三好)
Moses Chan as Lee Yi (李怡)
Kevin Cheng as Ko Hin-yeung (高顯揚)
Susanna Kwan as Yuen Chui-wan (阮翠雲)
Michelle Yim as Chung Suet-ha (鍾雪霞)
This series featured a very strong cast and I enjoy them all (they're on my list). There isn't anything in particular that stood out as bad, so I'm giving it the full five. Everyone's acting skills have been recognized at the annual TVB awards. After Tavia's outbreaking performing in Moonlight Resonance, she handled her villainous role very well. Moses had some of the LONGEST lines that were quite difficult for me at times to comprehend, I just got the just of it. Kevin and Charmaine played the honest diligent romantic couple and were really likable. Susanna and Michelle were good childhood friends analogous to Charmaine and Tavia.
The Characters - 4.25/5
The series featured multiple levels of goodness and evilness on a spectrum. Of course the selfless and honest Charmaine and Kevin were at the far too good end of the spectrum, they came back after being free! Kind of too good to be true but it balances the evilness of Tavia and the Eunuch. Moses was a good responsible king who was constricted by the people around him. I think Selena, Susanna and Michelle fall around the center of the spectrum. They aren't truly evil because they still have sincerity in their hearts (and they became better people eventually). However, they aren't afraid to say what they think is right and put everything on their faces, making them easy targets for (evil) people to use.
The Story - 4/5
Despite the negative evilness of Tavia and the Eunuch, it is only speaking the truth of history. The entire series revolved around the good versus the evil. I felt good to see the plans of the good foil the bad. Though I'm usually not a huge fan of the scheming evil plots because of all the deaths, this time, I think it fits within the context (architectural term) of the ancient world. I tend to shy away from ancient series because of the old ways and their thinkings are usually inapplicable to modern society, but the addition of some modern elements, in particular the good guys, into the story that makes it fits into the context of the 21st century.
The story has been criticized for its lack of originality and I do agree that the resembles too much of the Korean series Jewel in the Palace (Da Cheung Kum). I didn't watch very much of that Korean series because it felt like it had a super slow pace, so the resemblance doesn't bug me as much. In BTOC, the pace was very well maintained. I'm glad that it wasn't stretched to an even 40 episodes.
The Ending - 4.75/5 - WARNING SPOILERS
The story began with a foreshadow like Heart of Greed with scenes from the last two episodes. We learn that both Charmaine and Tavia become concubines of Moses and that Tavia has sided with the evil Eunuch/General who has the ambition to overthrow Moses. Unlike the HOG, this foreshadow misleads us in many ways and often threw my predictions out the window
Because of this foreshadow, throughout the entire series I was skeptical about Kevin and Charmaine's relationship. Initially, I didn't even see them as a couple with the childhood memories of Charmaine and Moses. When Kevin was introduced, I didn't know where he would fit into the 'bigger' picture. Soon it was obvious that he liked Charmaine but I thought Charmaine loved Moses more because of their childhood. Of course Kevin and Charmaine's love was not 'legal' and I thought Moses was going to ask to marry Charmaine when he asked his mother if she would accept a maid as a daughter in law, instead, Charmaine convinced him to marry Tavia. When both guys realized they were both in love with Charmaine, I thought Moses was going to use his "king" powers to wed Charmaine with the cost of their brotherhood, but Moses realized that Charmaine loved Kevin more and promised to grant them departure from the kingdom as soon as the evil was exterminated. All was going well until a prince from a neighboring country visits and falls upon Charmaine. I thought Selena's suggestion to Moses to marry Charmaine to keep her in China was going to follow through, instead, Moses helped Kevin and Charmaine escape (at this time both fathers of the two were poisoned to death and they were technicaly married). Surprisingly, they successfully escaped but they voluntarily returned showing their loyalty and selflessness. After jumping off a cliff during mission, all hope seemed to be lost, and Kevin appeared to have died but Charmaine was pregnant. After being discovered pregnant, the only way to save her was to marry Moses. I'd never guessed that was the reason why she became a concubine and Moses' willingness to accept a child that he did not bear was unheard of in history and shows his respect to his fallen friend. That is absolutely on of the best triangle relationship story ever told on screen.
Of course like most TVB endings, the good wins! Charmaine takes the king's seal and rules the kingdom. Moses was assisted and put on an act to fake his death which gave him time to organize his military troops and attack the Eunuch. Surprisingly, the Eunuch was killed by Tavia which would be highly improbable because he is a skilled martial artist. It just allowed us to see her go crazy in the end, thinking she is "Lau Sam-Ho" that is all, lol. The ending of Charmaine was the peak of the ending in terms of viewership. She was finally granted her wish by Moses to return to her hometown which is where she and Kevin once vowed to raise their family. She made and sold jewelry for a living at a local store and raised her daughter until she was about 5 or 6 until one afternoon she bumped into 'him' again...At first he didn't recognize her, I thought it may have been another hallucination. Then she started reciting some lines to trigger his memory, and he smiled back. THE END. Like my dad said, couldn't it end end with them hugging or holding hands? The ending of New Breath of Love was strong because of their final embrace! Overall - 4.5/5
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