小時代 - Tiny Times

小時代 (Tiny Times) is an 2013 film out of Zhong Guo. The four main gals are Yang Mi, Amber Kuo, Hsieh Haden Kuo, and Hsieh Yi-lin. The four male leads are Kai Ko, Rhydian Vaughan, Li Yue-ming, and Cheney Chen. The movie was a big box office hit in Zhong Guo, Taiwan, and Hong Kong.



The four female leads start the film performing at their high school graduation. The voice over is Lin Xiao, played by Yang Mi. The movie centers on her part time job at a fashion magazine, M.E. Amber plays Lily, a buddy leader of people. Haden plays Nan Xiang, a artist at heart trying to make her way into the fashion as a designer. The comic relief is provided by Hsieh Yi-Lin as Ruby, the not so feminine badminton athlete that dreams of being the toast and beauty of the party. Ko plays Gu Yuan, Lily's boyfriend, as a spoiled rich brat. Rhydian plays Gong Ming, the publisher of M.E. and Lin Xiao's boss. As they find their way through college and a future, a fashion must happen. Along the way, romance happens, hearts are broken, and the show must go on. The fashion show that is.



This film is strange to me. I am no longer in that "coming of age" demographic. My life is set, I've kids to raise and mortgage to pay off. These kids are out of high school, trying to find life after college. They have their whole future ahead of them. Their collegiate coming of age story in a sense. However, this was from a Zhong Guo perspective. Yet, it's not much different than how we do things here in the good ol' US of A. Succeed and be good at what you do. There are specific mainland themes, but money wasn't all much of a factor in general. There's are rich kids, middle of the road kids, and poor kids. The four gals and doods covered the spectrum.



I've mentioned this in other post of Zhong Guo films with a modern coming of age themes. I hope that the youth and trend setters look to set new one born out of ideas on the mainland. I hope they don't rely on trends from the US, Europe or even Japan. Because I am based in the US, when they copy, it looks cheezy. How does Tiny Times do in this regard? I think they still look to the US for their trends. Yet, there's a modern Zhong Guo feel to the movie.

Another side note is that 3 of the four gals and 2 of the four doods are Taiwanese. And rightfully so, the recent "hip" youngsters coming out of Zhong Guo don't look so "hip". And all four main gals are post mid twenties. Maybe its because the Tiny Times movie series will take them through various life stages.

I enjoyed the movie and do recommend it. I look forward to watching Tiny Times 2 soon.

Tiny Times 2 - 小時代:青木時代 - Upcoming

Tiny Times 2 (小時代2/小時代:青木時代) was released over the weekend in Zhong Guo, but it could not beat Pacific Rim. The follow up to the first Tiny Times, it continues their story into their careers.



The Los Angeles Times got into the act and had a review for it last week while it was also released in the Los Angeles area. I didn't catch the first one last month. I am a fan of Amber Kuo and Yang Mi. But I was not able to get out.

大尾鱸鰻 - David Loman - Upcoming

大尾鱸鰻 (David Loman) was released in Taipei this past weekend. The movie stars Chu Ko Liang, a jokester that became quite famous in the 1980s. A country bumpkins rise to gangster power. I'll watch it for the young guys, not for Chu. The young guns are Amber Kuo and Tony Yang.

昨日的記憶 - When Yesterday Comes - Upcoming

昨日的記憶 (When Yesterday Comes) is being released in Taipei this weekend. The story seems to revolve the lives of young and old. The cast seems to be star studded including many of the more popular movie and drama stars. Included in the cast are veterans of Taiwan cinema.

I am not sure if I would watch this movie. However, if I base it on the cast alone, I would get it.

愛 - LOVE - Upcoming

愛 (LOVE) is being released in Taipei the weekend before Valentine's Day. This ensemble love movie is an who's who of the Taiwan movie sphere. 3 of the most righteous leading men around in Eddie Peng, Ethan Ruan, and Mark Chao lead the attack with director and actor Doze Niu. The ladies that hold these men as arm candy are Shu Qi, Ivy Chen and her look alike Amber Kuo with Zhong Guo star Vicki Zhao.

Enjoy the promo posters as they give a nice glimpse into the pairings in the movie.





Whatever your take on love is, this movie aims to tell you!

一頁台北 - Au Revoir Taipei

一頁台北 (Au Revoir Taipei) is a 2010 Taiwan film. The film stars Amber Kuo and Jack Yao. The supporting cast include Joseph Chang, Lawrence Ko, and Frankie Gao. The film was written and directed by Taiwanese-American Arvin Chen.

The film starts off in Taipei with a gal leaving for Paris and a local boy staying behind. The boy is Kai and has recently graduated from college. Kai helps out with his parents food stall and studies french in a local bookstore. Kai goes to the bookstore daily to study french. A worker at the store, Susie, sees him everyday and starts to take an interest in his activity and eventually him. Kai desperately leaves phone message with the gal that left for Paris with no response back. Eventually one day, Kai gets a call, but its a call to end things. Kai takes into his own hands and decides that he should fly to Paris and win her back. Asking his parents for money without success, he calls on a local loanshark and gets a ticket to Paris. However, that loanshark makes him do something for him. Mistaken for a criminal, Kai and Susie are chased around town by a cop. In the background, the loanshark's muscle kidnap Kai's friend and in exchange for the package that Kai has for the loanshark. The chase around Taiwan begins!

The movie was really amazing. It was an ode to Taipei for both its street life, quarky personality, night market, and food stands. Amber is both sweet and strong at the same time. While Jack was suppose to be emotionless. The subplot that caught my attention was between Joseph Chang, Peggy Tsang, and Tony Yang. That was a weird love triangle in the middle of this caper. The music was also excellent.

I do highly recommend this light hearted romantic comedy that highlights Taipei and its citizens.

近在咫尺 - Close To You - Upcoming

近在咫尺 (Close To You) is being released in Taipei on August 13, 2010. The movie stars Eddie Peng, Amber Kuo, and Ming Dao.

From the looks of the trailer, Eddie and Ming play boxers. They have a score to settle, but Ming has a medical condition that prevents him from competing. But that can't stop the two from fighting each other.

Looks like both Eddie and Ming get yolked for their roles. I had heard of the regimen from Eddie's news interviews before, but when you see the trailer, you can understand why he's so proud. Are the Taiwanese male leads taking a page from their Korean counter parts?

In any case, I am looking forward to this film and can't wait for it to get to LA. I'll have to decide to if I need to wait for English subs so my wife can watch with me.

一頁台北 - Au Revoir Taipei - Upcoming

一頁台北 (Au Revoir Taipei) is an upcoming film being release in Taipei on April 2nd.

The movie stars Amber Kuo, Joseph Chang, Tony Yang, Peggy Tseng, Jack Yao, Lawrence Ko, Jack Kao, and Frankie Kao.

The trailer looks interesting in the fact that it seems to take place in modern day Taipei, but some elements are 70s style.

The background music for the trailer is dope too. I haven't been able to figure out if its The Postal Service or not.

Looks to be a fun film by a Taiwanese American, Arvin Chen. What can his American upbringing lend to this Taipei story?

The English translation is One Page Taipei.

無敵珊寶妹 - Invincible Shan Bao Mei (Woody Sambo)

無敵珊寶妹 (Invincible Shan Bao Mei (Woody Sambo) is a 2008 drama out of Taiwan. Starring Nicholas Teo and Amber Kuo. Cameos by Ethan Ruan, Joe Chen, and Jessica Song during the first and second episodes.

The drama was transitioned from Fated to Love You without a commercial in Taiwan. Helping it to very healthy ratings.

The story is of Nicholas Teo as Wu Di and Amber Kuo is Shan Bao. Of which they series gets its name. Wu Di is a boss of a famous restaurant, TV cooking show, and instant meal. Shan Bao is presented as a down on her luck, looking for love, and flat chested. Yikes! How do these two get together? When you're as obnoxious Wu Di and as pure hearted as Shan Bao. It means that Wu Di is going to loose everything and see what's important in life. And that is Shan Bao.

Generic story, generic characters, and generic finish. I wasn't surprised by anything and fast forward through a lot of the second half of the series. The cameos were funny and continues Xin Yi and Cun Xi's story a little.

I watched it for the hype (high ratings) but was ultimately let down. Its better than a lot of other stuff I've watched. But its a middle of the pack drama that I won't be watching again.

郭采潔 - 愛異想 -- Amber Kuo - i amber

I picked up Amber Kuo's (郭采潔) sophmore CD a few days ago at AMAX called i amber (愛異想).

The CD has 10 songs that lean on the pop and guitar vibe. Amber has a very strong clear voice with a nasally tone. You have many YouTube clips to decide how you want to describe it.

I'll be looking for her debut CD in the bargain bins.