Finding Mr. Right Review

Chinese Title: 北京遇上西雅图 (literally: Beijing Meets Seattle)

Year: 2013

Genre: romantic-comedy

Language: Mandarin and English

Source: Amazon

Synopsis:

Wen Jia Jia (Tang Wei) is a pregnant gold-digging mistress who wants to give birth in Seattle. She meets Frank (Wu Xu Bo), a Chinese driver with a troubled career and marriage. As she gets to know him, she realizes what she really wants in life - him.

Cheerfulnuts' Review:

Finding Mr. Right is one of the few chick flicks that didn't make me cringe. In fact, I had enjoyed this movie a great deal. Set in Seattle (as inspired by the Hollywood movie "Sleepless in Seattle"), you'd get to see how a lone Chinese pregnant woman who speaks and understands little English survives in the city. Equipped with only some cash and her unlimited credit card, Wen Jia Jia is determined to give birth to her son to impress her rich married boyfriend. 

Upon her arrival to the city, she is fetched by a driver named Frank, also a Chinese. He brought her to a maternity halfway owned by a Taiwanese woman. Because of Jia Jia's materialism and feisty character, her roomies immediately dislike her. On her first night in Seattle, I got to see how b*tchy she is (sorry, can't find the perfect word). She's getting on her roomies' nerves and also on mine. 

Despite her poor relationships with the other pregnant women, she is quick to make friends with the kind and gentle Frank. Frank used to be a physician in Beijing. His daughter Julie couldn't fit in with other Chinese kids in school, so he and his wife decided to take her to US. Since his wife earns much more than he does, he quits his job and lives with Julie in Seattle. He has trouble getting a medical license in the US, so he works as a driver. His having a strained relationship with his wife and Jia Jia being lonely, the two somehow become very close.

There's nothing really magical about the Tang Wei-Wu Xiu Bo pairing. However, I like the chemistry between Jia Jia and Frank's character. I think in real life, a person that is too kind (like Frank) will be appreciated more by someone feisty (like Jia Jia). On the other hand, a feisty person needs a kind and patient partner. I've seen a few couples like this and their relationship works.

As Jia Jia spends more time with her new friends, she slowly realizes that money isn't what she really wants. In her late pregnancy, she is shocked to find her credit card blocked. She quickly learns that her boyfriend has been arrested for fraud. Lesson learned: do not depend your livelihood on someone else's credit card. To pay for her expenses, she starts working for the Taiwanese landlady. She also sells all her luxury bags given by her boyfriend. I find this act really meaningful. A lot of women regard their bags as important. Bags are status symbols. Jia Jia's selling her bags somehow means that she is letting go of all these material things that don't really matter to her. She also realizes that she's falling for Frank who has always stayed by her side.

I'd like to point out that despite this being a romantic-comedy movie, you won't hear any "I love you's" from the pair. Sure, the attraction between them is quite obvious. But the lack of verbal confirmation of love sometimes confuses me. On several points of the film, I have been wondering if they're aware of their feelings for each other. In romantic movies, a character realizing that he/she loves someone is usually the climax of the story. Falling in love and knowing that you've fallen in love are two different things. You know, the moment when a guy realizes his feelings for a girl and he immediately runs to the airport to tell her he loves her is the moment we viewers are waiting for. But in this film, there's nothing like this. Or maybe there is, but minus the words of love.

What I like best about this movie is the character development, especially in Jia Jia's character. From a b*tchy and gold-digging mistress, she has turned into a mature and caring woman. It's really a huge transformation. It gives us a message that hardships in life can totally change us.

I have probably made this movie sound a bit too deep than it actually is LOL. It's just a chick flick. But with a nice message. The acting is okay. Don't expect an award-winning performance from the leads though. Do I recommend this? If you simply want a relaxing romantic-comedy movie, go ahead and try it. Don't expect too much. Just enjoy it.

Cheerfulnuts' Verdict:

6 out of 10 stars

Shaolin Review

Shaolin

Chinese Title: 新少林寺

Althernative Title: The New Shaolin Temple

Genre: Action, Drama

Language: Chinese

Year: 2011

Synopsis:

Hou Jie (Andy Lau) is a merciless warlord who thinks mostly about his own benefits. When he defeats Huo Long (Chen Zhihui) in a battle, the latter seeks refuge to a Shaolin temple. Despite the monks’ request for Hou Jie to let his fallen enemy go, Hou Jie still kills Huo Long. Before Hou Jie’s exit, he sees the temple’s fallen board at the gate. Taking out his calligraphy brush, he adds the line “nothing out of ordinary” on the board, thus, insulting the monks.

Envious of his sworn brother Song Hu (Shi Xiaohong), Hou Jie devises a plan to murder him. Hou Jie’s deputy Cao Man (Nicholas Tse), who holds a grudge against him, takes this opportunity to assassinate his superior and his family. Hou Jie shoots Song Hu, but when Cao Man’s hired assassins arrive, Song Hu saves Hou Jie despite the latter’s betrayal. Hou Jie barely escapes with his fatally wounded daughter while his wife (Fan Bing Bing) is saved by the monks (Xing Yu and Yu Shaoqun) who happen to be there.

Desperate to save his dying daughter, Hou Jie runs to the temple to ask for the monks’ help. However, he is a bit too late. His daughter’s injuries are too serious. She dies and Hou Jie blames the monks for not saving her. His wife, angry at Hou Jie for everything he did, leaves him.

Hou Jie meets the Shaolin cook Wu Dao (Jackie Chan). While he mourns over his daughter’s death, Wu Dao feeds him. As Hou Jie thinks about his past deeds, he is filled with remorse. He cuts his hair and tells Wu Dao he decides to become a monk.

Cheerfulnuts’ Review:

With a great cast, the new Shaolin movie seems promising. It is. I’m happy to say that it didn’t let me down. The fighting scenes are superb. The team did the right thing for casting actors who know about martial arts.

Shaolin focuses on Hou Jie’s character development. Andy Lau succeeded in showing how terrible Hou Jie was in the first part of the film and how or why he had turned over new leaf. Viewers can easily see why Cao Man despises him so much. The characters are convincing and the plot works.

Jackie Chan’s fans might get mixed feelings with his “mere” special appearance in Shaolin. Some might get disappointed for the very limited fighting scenes he had. Others might be happy for the new image he had shown in his character. In my opinion, Jacky Chan’s Wu Dao is a likeable character, as his characters have always been in his movies. His presence made the movie much more amusing.

I used to regard Nicholas Tse as a teen idol. Since I saw his Deng Sidi in Bodyguards and Assassins (2009), my outlook of him changed. My respect for him as an actor grew, and I expected that he would give an outstanding performance in Shaolin. He didn’t fail me. Though his Cao Man is not as good as his Deng Sidi, he has portrayed his character well. Cao Man did annoy and scare me.

The downside of Shaolin is it focuses too much on religion. It’s not exactly a bad thing, but viewers with different beliefs should be prepared when watching this film. Since it involves monks, Buddhism is profusely instilled to the audience.

Overall, I like the movie. It has excellent casting, superb acting, engaging story, impressive action scenes, and an amazing soundtrack as well!

Cheerfulnuts’ Verdict:

9 out of 10 stars

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