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College New + Best Selection (CD+DVD)
Endy Chow (Singer)
Endy Chow's first solo album since 2005's Light, College is a long overdue release from one of Hong Kong's most talented new-generation singer-songwriters. Granted it's one of those "new + best" compilations that record companies like to put out to test fan patience, but there are actually five brand new songs so it's not a bad deal even for those who already own all of his previous albums (cough... me). Frankly, I'm just glad that Endy Chow is still working. All five of the new songs in College are fairly representative of Endy's rock and ballad style. "Gray Peter Pan" (Track 1) is typical of his rock offerings, a mid-tempo hardish pop rock number, particular notable for its growling guitar... [read more]
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Big Bang - 2009 Big Bang Live Concert : Big Show (3-Disc) (Korea Version) (Poster In Tube)
Big Bang
Big Bang's Big Show 2009 opens not just with a bang, but with... opera?! A majestic intro of violins and operatic singing lays the carpet for Big Bang's grand entry. Dressed in dapper white, the guys kick off with their hit Haru Haru to orchestral accompaniment, followed by My Heaven. The energy level remains high for the entire concert as the group dance and groove through hit songs like Always, Lies, Stylish, Red Sunset and LaLaLa, as well as side tracks that they don't often perform live like Wonderful and A Nice Person. The stage and lighting design are pretty impressive, what with the crazy lasers, fireworks, fire, and light-up walkway stage that snakes among the audience. But the... [read more]
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Black & White (DVD) (English Subtitled) (Vol. 1) (To Be Continued) (Taiwan Version)
Vic Chou (Actor)
| Mark Chao (Actor)
| Ning Chang (Actor)
| Ivy Chen (Actor)
Tsai Yueh Hsun, the director who put Taiwan idol dramas on the map back in 2001 with Meteor Garden, redefines the genre in 2009 with the big-budget buddy cop mini-series Black & White. As Tsai's most expensive and large-scale project yet, Black & White lives up to the buzz and then some extra. Black & White is undoubtedly one of the best Taiwan TV dramas I've seen, and certainly the most ambitious and exciting police drama the island has ever produced. Set in a Chinese city where cops brandish American-style badges, Black & White revolves around its eponymous heroes, Chen Zai Tine (Vic Chou) and Wu Ying Xiong (Mark Chao), two police officers of vastly different personalities who get... [read more]
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Akai Ito DVD Box (DVD) (Japan Version)
Matsuda Kenji
| Watanabe Noriko
| Ogi Shigemitsu
| Kawamura Taisuke (Director)
According to East Asian folklore, lovers are tied together by an invisible and unbreakable "red thread of destiny". This old-fashioned romanticism about red threads and fated love provides the wistful wrapping for the 2008 youth drama Akai Ito. Based on a mania cellphone novel about a schoolgirl's supposedly real-life experiences, the romantic mini-series about two teens who must overcome many roadblocks to be together squeezes buckets of Lifetime Television trials into its 11 episodes. Yet, it manages to stay fairly down to earth and affecting during its bumpy adolescent journey. Many serious revelations and responsibilities are thrown the way of Akai Ito's young protagonists, Mei... [read more]
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The Day (CD + DVD) (China Version)
Xu Wei (Singer)
If you're yet to discover the wonders of Xu Wei, then this compilation is a great place to start. The Day comes with 15 selected songs from the Mainland singer-songwriter's last three albums - Ai Ru Shao Nian, It's New For Every Moment, Through the Time - covering a good portion of his music from 2002 to 2008, or what I would call his mellow years. Critics quip that Xu Wei's albums all sound the same, and the observation is not unfounded. But Xu Wei's hearty, heart-tugging folk and guitar rock numbers don't just pitch a common sound, but rather a common sentiment, a continuing story of living and moving, crying and dreaming, and staying true to self in an aging, changing world. Since 2002's... [read more]
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VINS - Sensitivity
VINS
K-pop has sprouted so many new girl groups lately, it's getting harder and harder to tell them apart. To aid memory, let's just say VINS are the ones not wearing color-splatter clothing, and not likely to participate in the inevitable Mnet rookie sexy dance battle stage. The under-the radar trio has a rather unfortunate name that seemingly abides by some hidden rule that every other female group must have an abbreviated four-character name. VINS also stands for "Voice IN Soul", which is far too similar to male trio V.O.S's "Voice Of Soul" (although "female version of V.O.S" certainly isn't a negative association). Despite the less-than-stellar packaging and promotion for VINS, the group's... [read more]
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Survivor's Law (DVD) (End) (TVB Drama) (US Version)
Raymond Lam (Actor)
| Bernice Liu (Actor)
| Myolie Wu (Actor)
| Sammul Chan (Actor)
TVB generally fares well in ratings and quality when it comes to modern dramas revolving around professional fields like law, medicine, and forensics, so in retrospect it's not surprising that Survivor's Law, a work-meets-romance series about young ambitious lawyers, became a hit when it aired in Hong Kong in summer 2003. Headlined by a new-generation cast of TVB's future A-list, Survivor's Law was one of the first post-2000 dramas to rely completely on young actors to carry the show, and even more importantly, one of the first to prove that young actors could carry a drama to high ratings. Survivor's Law came during a crucial turning point period when TVB was pushing its new class to the... [read more]
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Old Partner (DVD) (Korea Version)
Lee Chung Ryul (Director)
| Choi Won Kyun
| Lee Sam Soon
Don't let the lack of subtitles deter you from watching the award-winning Korean documentary Old Partner. This indie darling about two elderly farmers and a dying ox is as far from the blockbuster formula as one can possibly get, and yet it completely and confoundingly defied the odds to become a massive mainstream hit in Korea. Lee Chung Ryul's charming documentary quite simply follows one normal yet fateful year in the lives of 79-year-old farmer Choi, his 74-year-old wife, and their old and trusty bovine, which we are told at the film's start has only about a year left to live. Life goes on as usual, the days marked by the sowing of the seeds and the tending of fields. Time seems to move... [read more]
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Keshin (SINGLE+DVD)(First Press Limited Edition)(Japan Version)
Fukuyama Masaharu
Japan's favorite bachelor Fukuyama Masaharu sports a funny-looking perm on the cover of his 20th anniversary single Keshin, but otherwise he looks almost exactly the same as he did two decades ago. The same could be said of the forever-young singer-songwriter's music, soothing lilting ballads and hearty rock numbers that carry for years without aging. His latest single Keshin is one of his most fun songs yet. Keshin kicks up the energy level straight off with a hyper-fast drum solo and a sprightly detective jazz intro. Keshin seems to take a page from Kuwata Keisuke with its jazzy, catchy rock melody, and the song's lively atmosphere pulls the listener in right away. From the edgy lyrics to... [read more]
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Achilles and the Tortoise (DVD) (English Subtitled) (Japan Version)
Kitano Takeshi (Director)
| Higuchi Kanako
| Aso Kumiko
| Osugi Ren
Achilles and the Tortoise is without a doubt the most accessible entry in Kitano Takeshi's head-scratching, navel-gazing, self-reflective, self-deprecating trilogy of films. It is also the entry that is least obviously about him. For one thing, unlike Takeshis' and Glory to the Filmmaker, Achilles and the Tortoise does not star Kitano as himself. And there are no man-sized mannequins of him, either. After Glory to the Filmmaker! crossed the line of eccentric into esoteric (or worse, boring), Achilles takes Kitano back to something resembling a narrative with the intriguing character study of an untalented artist from childhood to middle age. Achilles and the Tortoise captures the life of... [read more]
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Love Forever (Normal Edition)(Japan Version)
Kato Miliyah
| Shimizu Shota
As a crossover effort from two of Japan's brightest young R&B artists, Love Forever does not disappoint. This remarkably likable R&B number lays romantic lyrics and infectious synth beats over a rolling mid-tempo melody that bounces with positive energy. If this was a solo track from Kato or Shimizu, it would probably sound too commercial, but as a collaboration Love Forever feels fresh, fun, and catchy. Kato and Shimizu's voices harmonize together beautifully, often sounding like they could be one, and combining to turn Love Forever into an outstanding R&B pop number. B-side Looking your eyes is more of a standard-fare R&B ballad. The verse portions of the song are actually quite good and... [read more]
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2PM 2nd Single Album
2PM
2PM was outshone by SHINee last year in the battle of the rookie boy bands, but they're getting their time in the limelight with their second single album 2:00PM Time For Change. Written, composed, and arranged by daddy JYP, their red-hot #1 single Again & Again is pretty much a surefire hit from the first note to the last. Particularly notable for the fluid electronic beats and pounding bass that serve as intro, outro, and catchy backing for the entire song, Again & Again is an urban dance track that embraces the K-pop mantra of being both hip-pop edgy and completely chart-friendly at the same time. The song gets stuck in the head pretty easily since the "again and again" part is repeated,... [read more]
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The Secret Code (Jacket A)(ALBUM+DVD)(Japan Version)
Dong Bang Shin Ki (TVXQ)
Hard to imagine that's it possible for Dong Bang Shin Ki to get more popular than they already are, but the past year turned out to be a massive breakthrough for the group in Japan. In 2008, they released their third Japanese album and a ridiculous nine J-pop singles (including the TRICK singles), four of which became #1 sellers, and ended the year with an appearance on Kohaku Uta Gassen. (Somewhere in there, they also released Korea's best-selling album of the year.) Continuing at their superhuman pace, Dong Bang Shin Ki recently released their fourth J-pop album, The Secret Code, which made its Oricon debut at #2 and has already sold double what T did. With half the album made up of... [read more]
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Ryusei no Kizuna DVD Box (DVD) (Japan Version)
Ninomiya Kazunari
| Toda Erika
| Nishikido Ryo
| Omi Toshinori
What happens when you cross the moving suspense of Higashino Keigo and the oddball humor of Kudo Kankuro? It's this strangely inspired combination that puts the 2008 TBS drama Ryusei no Kizuna in an engaging genre-bending category of its own. Adapted from Higashino's popular novel, 10-episode mini-series Ryusei no Kizuna follows three orphan siblings - Koichi (Ninomiya Kazunari), Taisuke (Nishikido Ryo), and Shizuna (Toda Erika) - as they try to find the man who killed their parents in cold blood 15 years ago. Though the premise of the story is heavy, screenwriter Kudo Kankuro's hand is light, approaching the crime mystery and complex relationships with a snappy tone, offbeat pacing, and... [read more]
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2008 Mayday Live DVD
Mayday (Singer)
When Mayday burst out in the Taiwan music scene in 1998, they were the voice of youth. Not just because they were young at the time, but because their songs captured youth in all its energetic, hot-blooded, lyrical, fearless, bittersweet glory. Ten years later, Mayday is still the same good old Mayday. They've found greater commercial success than any other Taiwan band and achieved a superstar status matched by few, but they're still the Mayday that holes up every year to make an album that hits the heart, and then tours like crazy to put on show after show that hits the spot. Last December, Mayday returned to the Zhongshan Stadium for their first concerts there in eight years, playing to an... [read more]
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Basic Love (DVD) (US Version)
Elanne Kwong (Actor)
| Janice Man (Actor)
| Rex Ho (Actor)
| Xu Zheng Xi (Actor)
It's too bad that Basic Love has fallen so completely under the radar as it's one of the few true romances to come out of Hong Kong in recent years. Certainly, out of the four love-titled films that hit Hong Kong theaters around Valentine's Day, Basic Love is the only one that resembles anything close to a moving love story. Hong Kong Cinema's take on romance in the last few years have consisted largely of glossy rom-coms and Patrick Kong blockbusters that equate modern love with a game of deceit. In such an atmosphere, Basic Love feels almost unique for sticking to a classic love-triangle melodrama, and remaining refreshingly free of agenda and cynicism. An oddly sincere release, especially... [read more]
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Tae Goon 1st Mini Album
Tae Goon
With Rain and SE7EN focusing on their overseas careers and other male singers unable to rise to the occasion (between the requisite military rounds), the last few years of K-pop have pretty much been dominated by boy bands, girl groups, and divas. Other than Seo Tai Ji and the boy band-turned-solo holdouts, there are virtually no male vocalists at the top of the K-pop charts. The Korean music industry is clearly in need of some new blood, and Tae Goon just might be the best hope for the next big male pop star. Tae Goon first attracted buzz for his connection to TVXQ's Hero Jae Joong who starred in the music video of his catchy debut single Call Me, but the 23-year-old newcomer has a lot more... [read more]
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HOCC + Mak Yan Yan - The Decameron Documentary DVD
Denise Ho
| Mak Yan Yan
What does madness mean to you? That is the question most often asked in Hong Kong singer Denise Ho and director Mak Yan Yan's disarmingly engaging documentary on madness, The Decameron. This curious documentary is linked with Denise's most recent album Ten Days in the Madhouse, as her music features in the film and the documentary's ten chapters have the same play-on-name titles as her album's ten songs, but the release is by no means just another album tie-in movie. Both The Decameron and Ten Days in the Madhouse are part of the singer's larger campaign to raise public awareness about mental illness, an admirable project that has encompassed an exhibition, community service, and other... [read more]
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I Gotta Kick Start Now (SINGLE+DVD)(First Press Limited Edition)(Japan Version)
VAMPS
VAMPS' second single I Gotta Kick Start Now is just about as fun as J-rock gets without losing its edge. While the band's first single Love Addict was already a good indicator that VAMPS would be a different (happier) beast than L'Arc-en-Ciel and HYDE's solo works, I Gotta Kick Start Now really lays in the catchy riffs and growling refrains for a blasting good time. This is a song that's meant to be blasted at high volume in your car, windows down. The track starts loud and tight with ear-piercing guitars and amusing opening lyrics - "I'm gonna try you out / Just shake and move / Not in a nasty way" - and lightens up with the too-catchy repeating title line. This combination of hard and... [read more]
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Suspect X (DVD) (English Subtitled) (Hong Kong Version)
Fukuyama Masaharu (Actor)
| Shibasaki Kou (Actor)
| Kitamura Kazuki (Actor)
| Tsutsumi Shinichi
2008 was a very good year for Japanese television dramas to travel to the silver screen. Just in the list of top ten highest-grossing films of the year, we can find three movies that began on the small screen - Hana Yori Dango: Final, Suspect X, and Aibo the Movie - not to mention other decent-grossing TV spin-offs like Kurosagi, Sushi Oji, and Akai Ito. Spun from the 2007 TV drama Galileo, Suspect X ended 2008 with over US$50 million in box-office receipts, making it the third highest-grossing Japanese film of the year after Ponyo on the Cliff by the Sea and Hana Yori Dango: Final. The box office comes as no surprise considering the TV drama's popularity, the star power of leads Fukuyama... [read more]
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