Movie Review: Just Married (2003)

Year Produced: 2003
Director: Shawn Levy
Producers: Robert Simonds, Lauren Shuler Donner
Writer: Sam Harper
Distributor: 20th Century Fox
Running Time: 95 minutes
Language(S): English, Italian, German, French
Country of Origin: United States of America

Cast:
Ashton Kutcher as Tom Leezak
Brittany Murphy as Sarah McNerney then Sarah Leezak
Christian Kane as Peter Prentiss
David Moscow as Kyle
Monét Mazur as Lauren

The McNerneys
David Rasche as Mr. McNerney
Veronica Cartwright as Mrs. McNerney aka Pussy
Thad Luckinbill as Willie McNerney
David Agranov as Paul McNerney
Taran Killam as Dickie McNerney

The Leezaks
Raymond J. Barry as Mr. Leezak

Storyline/Plot/Synopsis:
The story starts with Tom and Sarah at the airport, fighting with each other all the way and Tom dropping Sarah at her home as a favor to her and crashing all the flower pots and statues in her house compound at the same time.
While Sarah ends up crying on the shoulder of her best friend, Lauren, Tom was back at home roughing it out with his best buddy, Kyle.

The story then flashes back to when Tom and Sarah first met; when Tom was playing football on the beach and Sarah was hit by the ball he threw in her direction while she was walking her dog. The two got acquainted with each other and soon started seeing each other, despite Sarah's wealthy family's objections to their relationship when Sarah brought Tom back to meet her parents.

Though it started on a bad impression, the family could not stop Sarah from marrying Tom in a traditional church ceremony, to which Sarah was happy to finally be with Tom.



However, Tom hid a secret from Sarah and vice versa; as Tom accidentally killed her dog while he was in her room and Sarah, at the same time, was trying to keep the incident of her sleeping with Peter once from Tom, who hates the sight of Peter.


On their wedding night, they saved their first night for the honeymoon as both were extremely exhausted after the wedding ceremony, but Sarah tried to drag Tom to the restroom on the plane to have sex. However, their attempts to join the mile high club failed and they even hurt the air stewardess who was constantly telling them to return to their seats due to the air turbulence when their door swung open into her face. Upon landing at the airport, Tom was upset to learn that they were given a small rental car; a lot smaller than what he originally requested for during his reservation.

While they were driving to their destination, Tom was complaining and when Sarah tells him to make a sharp turn at the very last minute, they both got down from the car, arguing but soon reconciled as they realized that they sounded like an old married couple.

Reaching their hotel, they were pleased with the excellent French hospitality and amazed with the beautiful suite they were given. However, Tom was a little annoyed when the concierge informed them of a bottle of wine given to them by Peter, congratulating them on their marriage, as Peter had been trying to pursue Sarah for years. In their suite, Tom found another gift from Kyle; which was a Thunderstick A-200; a sex toy which he was excited with and tried to plug it into the wall socket to charge immediately. Unheeding Sarah's objections, he forced the plug into the socket but it was not matching the European socket standards and thus caused power blackout in the hotel and the entire village. The hotel manager was furious with the couple as the establishment was started by his great grandparents and had never run into problems like these. Tom was furious with his attitude and the two exchanged words of anger whereby the manager kicked both Tom and Sarah out of the hotel.

Sarah was upset at not being able to enjoy the beautiful hotel and the two ended up staying inside their car for the night as their car lost control and derailed off the side of the road. Their car was covered with snow the next morning and the two got out and hitchiked a ride from a truck driver and ending up at Venice where they checked into a less than impressive pensione there.

However, they tried to make the best of the situation and attempted to make love but were freaked out by the cockcroaches and then, the two crashed the wall into another couple's room and it was then that they decided to move out of the pensione.


Despite Tom's objections, Sarah sought the help of her father to book them a luxurious hotel but her father reminded Tom to repay him the money as soon as possible.

Their honeymoon seems to be back on track when they set off for their sightseeing tour the next day; but it seemed that Tom was not interested in most of the architectures of attractive spots which Sarah enjoyed and agreeing to separate for their own interests in activities, the couple split into Sarah continuing her tour around major tourist spots and Tom hanging out at an American themed bar watching sports updates. Sarah returns to the hotel early and was surprised to find that Peter was also staying in the same hotel. Tom was furious to find out about Peter's presence and the two wound up in a heated argument in which Tom revealed that he accidentally killed her dog while Sarah also mentioned that she had slept with Peter once.
Shocked with the revelation from both sides, they both stormed out of the room and went on their separate ways again; with Tom ending up at the bar and Sarah on her sightseeing again; where she bumped into Peter.


Tom, on the other hand, was at the bar when he met a girl who flirted with him. Realizing that she wants sex, Tom tried to get out of the conversation by excusing himself to the toilet where he ends up climbing out of the window to escape back to the hotel. However, when he found out that Sarah was with Peter in the hotel, he stormed off in anger and bumped into the girl at the bar again. Trying to get away from her, he tried to offer sending her back to her hotel but unknowingly revealed his own hotel where the girl also claimed she was staying there. She followed him to his hotel room where she started taking off her clothes and got on top of him, while Tom was wriggling his best to get away from her and finally yelled that he was on his honeymoon with his wife, and she finally left.

Peter and Sarah went for a drink together and when he dropped her off at the hotel, he kissed her and was witnessed by Tom from their balcony. However, what Tom did not see was that Sarah slapped Peter and tells him that she is on her honeymoon. When Sarah reaches the room, Tom initiated an argument and accused Sarah of cheating on him with Peter, while Sarah was furious to discover a red bra in the room.


As the two was in their shouting match, Sarah threw an ashtray at Tom, injuring him on his forehead, and Peter barged into their argument, pulling Sarah to run away with him and fuelling Tom's anger to which he picked up a poker to threaten Peter, who ran off and had the hotel's staff to lodge a police report, and the couple ended up spending the night in jail. Peter bailed them out but the couple were too furious with each other and cut their honeymoon short, boarding the plane back to LA.
On their way back, the two continued their acts of vengeance against each other; especially Sarah who told the airport officials that Tom had drugs stuffed in his anus and ending up in him being searched.

When they reached LA; which was the beginning of the movie, the two separated ways but soon realized that they still loved each other very much and were both heartbroken with how they turned out. Tom was advised by his father, and after hearing his father's story, drove to Sarah's house to make amends with her, although the family and the maid refused entry to him.
However, Tom threatened to ram the gate with his car and then proceeded to declare his love for Sarah at the security circuit camera attached at the front gate which touched Sarah, and even her family as her father urged her to go after him and the couple reconciled with an embrace and kiss.

Christy's Review:
Simple and sweet storyline, and hilarious with the twist of events occurring on the disastrous honeymoon. Brittany Murphy was just so sweet as the young and promising bride while Ashton Kutcher was equally a adorable, making them such a lovely couple to watch and it was sad to see them parting, really. It was a very light-hearted movie filled with lots of drama, but eventually love conquered all, making this yet another heart-melting romantic comedy to be enjoyed by everyone.

Likes about the movie:
Scenes between Brittany and Ashton; their chemistry is amazing!


Dislikes about the movie:
Besides the bickering scenes, there should also be more romantic scenes to portray more of their fiery romance for each other although it is not lacking that much in the movie either.

Verdict:
Watch, for the sweet and lovely scenes between Brittany and Ashton which makes them such a desirable newly wed and is bound to make any newlywed or even longtime married folks enjoy the entertaining jokes from the disasters on their honeymoon.

Rating: 3/5

TVB: Ghetto Justice (怒火街頭) 2011

Year Produced: 2011
Created by: Terry Tong Kei Ming
Language: Cantonese
No. of episodes: 20


Opening theme: No Time to Regret by Hanjin Tan and M.C. Jin

Main Cast:
Kevin Cheng Ka Weng - L.A Law/Law Lik Ah
Myolie Wu - Kris Wong Si Fu
Alex Lam - George Mike Jr./ Mai Cho Chi
Sam Lee - Tin Ka Fu
Sharon Chan - Ho Lee Ching
Joyce Tang Lai Meng - Tai Ng Ting

Supporting Cast:
Mandy Wong - Silvia Cheung Chi Sum
Shek Sau - Spencer Cheung Pak Kei
Ching Hor Wai - Poon Siu King
Kwok Fung - Mai Bo (George's father)
Chun Wong - Ting Fook Yuen (Fu's father)
Ting Chu Wai - Tam Wing Chau (Fu's mother)

Storyline/Plot/Synopsis:
A story about the thin line between the law and ethics and whether the two can align with each other to uphold social justice.


Kris Wong Si Fu (Myolie Wu) is an aspiring barrister whose ultimate aim is to create a name for herself in the legal department; setting her idol, Spencer Cheung Pak Kei (Shek Sau) as her motivation, she sets to win as many cases as possible.

She met the unkept and slacker of Law Lik Ah (Kevin Cheng), whom she develops a bad first impression of and was in utter disdain at his sight. Battling him in court, she learns that Law is not as simple as he seems as he holds a rather profound influence over his witnesses and defendants in court.


Law was just as unimpressed with the unethical Kris who seemed to be more interested in the victory of the case than the interests of the causes of justice. However, Kris soon learns, through her various cases that the powerful affluent people are using their wealth to get away with their own heinous crimes thus changing her own direction and perception in law and upholding justice through the truth.

Collaborating with Law, she learns much more than just winning her cases and even befriends the rest of Law's friends, George Mike Jr. (Alex Lam) and Tin Ka Fu (Sam Lee); both of whom were sons of rich families but yet works alongside Law to help the financially incapable in fighting for their rights and for justice.
Law reopens his office which is started to serve the community in Sham Shui Po, and to help the people in need; much to Kris's admiration.

Though initially still fighting for her own ambitions, Kris soon learns that Law's background was more astounding than his appearance, or her perception of him as he was the long lost famous barrister, L.A Law, who was as popular and admired as her idol, Spencer Cheung in the past.

He had fought and won several cases, but had disappeared for years after his last case in which he felt guilty for causing the death of a witness whom he forced to suicide to free his client of the conviction. Unable to bear with his own guilt, Law could not bring himself to court anymore.

As Law and Kris spend more time with each other, they develop feelings for each other but Kris was too proud to admit her growing affections for him. At the same time, Kris bumps into her old friend, Ho Lee Ching (Sharon Chan) who turned up and then surprised Kris with the newfound fact that she is now a prostitute by profession.

Disappointed with Ching, Kris turns away from her old friend although she needs her in a sexual harassment case. However, Kris soon found out Ching's sad story which led to her being a part of prostitution following her rape by her own mother's debtors. Tin Ka Fu, falls for Ching, but was being rejected by him again and again, as she was ashamed of her own background while Fu persuaded his own discriminating parents to accept her.

When Fu and Ching could finally start their own French restaurant; which was Ching's lifelong dream, she stumbled upon Spencer's illegal doings and ended up being murdered.

Although they suspected Spencer, there was no proof to bring him to justice. Angered by that fact, Kris then made everyone, including her own mother as she offered to join Spencer's defense team to help defend him from law. Unknown to them, Kris was just acting indifferent to find the incriminating evidence to nail Spencer on his heinous crime and she finally succeeded in doing so; although unethically and unlawfully. Law realized Kris's intentions and changed her video, sending the evidence of him tapering with the evidence; causing him to be jailed and disbarred from practising law ever again in the future.

At the end of the drama, Kris visits Law in prison and even told her that she will wait for him to return to help her with her practice and decides to reopen Law's office on his behalf, to the delight of the Sham Shui Po's residents.

Christy's Review:
An interesting drama; which takes a different turn from the typical courtroom drama of the likes of Files of Justice and Survivors Law, and focusing instead on the interests of social justice of the lower class people. I find it a fresh portrayal on depicting the interests of ethics in affecting the decisions of justice and that law knows no boundaries in the ones practising and those who are accused behind the bars.

It is a rather fresh idea; and welcomed too, with the rise of social issues and crimes in the society and having normal people and their mentality, gave a different insight into the perspectives of law and in becoming a lawyer. It shows that being a lawyer does not mean that one needs to only dress smart and win cases to be defined as one of potential, but that a lawyer should also uphold ethics and justice at the same time to be able to understand the law.
One of the first courtroom drama with a new take and appeal to true justice.

Characters Analysis:
Myolie Wu as Kris Wong Si Fu

Nothing less than what I would expect of Myolie, as she is just so extremely at ease in her character and her expressions were typical of most of the characters she had portrayed in the past. Initially unscrupulous, Kris Wong was only interested in her own ambitions and could care less about the reality of justice but when she realized, to her disgust, that the rich were using their wealth to evade the consequences of law, she was torn between her own desires and the truth until she met the sleazy Law Lik Ah from whom she learns the true meaning of justice.
Although she was impressed with him, she was at the same time also dealing with her feelings of admiration or disrespect for him until he sacrificed himself for her towards the end. She had finally redeemed herself when she learnt to sacrifice her own career for justice in her best friend's case at the end. It was the turning point; the change of the selfish character Myolie portrayed from the beginning of the series, and for that, she has done a great job.
Myolie's hairstyle was a little weird in the series though.

Kevin Cheng as Law Lik Ah

Sleazy and looking unkept, Law was not as bad as he seems as he helps people in need for the sake of justice and also for a charitable cause. Kevin Cheng played his character naturally as the laid back guy who was actually hiding his own past behind his character. Hiding his pain and grief from the stories haunting him from the past, Law had to act cool and nonchalant in front of everyone and Kevin was just dashing to play this happy go lucky character of Law who was confident and yet ridden with guilt.

Alex Lam as George Mike Jr/Mai Cho Chi

It was refreshing to see this comical guy playing a serious role for once as he settles in his character as a nervous yet helpful son of an ex famous justice, Mai Bo. Alex Lam is a face one would tend to associate with comedy but his expressions and portrayal of a serious character here is simply astonishing, was extremely believable.
Best scenes was when he liked Tai Ng Ting, and yet hid his feelings for the married woman at the same time. A good job done by this actor.

Sam Lee as Tin Ka Fu

Treading on the same nature as Alex Lam, Sam Lee is often seen in comical and supporting roles in movies and this is probably one of the rare times seeing him in a serious and awfully just character that it was initially a little weird watching him in his role. However, his facial expressions was rather natural as shown on his face that it becomes more believable as the show progresses. A fresh and interesting take of a role played by Sam and hope to see more series with him in the future.

Sharon Chan as Ho Lee Ching

Another natural role for Sharon, who never failed to impress with her skills in portraying a difficult and stubborn lady in most of her typical roles. Her indignant facial expressions when facing difficult situations in the drama, just makes her believable in the roles she play. However, Sharon has been underrated in her acting most of the time, given her minor roles and I hope to see her in more major roles soon.

Shek Sau as Spencer Cheung Pak Kei

Although a veteran actor, I never really did like Shek Sau's acting as I find his expressions a little exaggerated at times and it is typical in all his roles over the years. Nothing astounding as he plays yet another despicable character in this drama; one who is just too proud of himself most of the time and will never concede defeat.

Couples' Chemistry:
Myolie Wu and Kevin Cheng as Kris Wong and Law Lik Ah

Nothing much from this bickering couple; and although they were both adorable at times, I just could not feel the sparks from this combination. Individually they are great actors, but when it comes to inserting romance between them, it did not seem to fit their impressions, in my opinion. Well, there is not much romantic scenes between them anyway, which was not too bad.

Sam Lee and Sharon Chan as Tin Ka Fu and Ho Lee Ching

Alright, this may be the most believable couple in the entire series; possibly due to their heights? Chemistry was obviously lacking in them as well, although I can see that both were trying to fit in very hard to play a couple but it just did not seem to bring out the feelings they were both said to have in the series.

Alex Lam and Joyce Tang as George Mike Jr and Tai Ng Ting

This is the least compatible couple, and it was a good thing that they did not develop much on their scenes as well. It was totally weird, and unbelievable and they are definitely the oddest couple in the whole series. It was evident that the relationship was one-sided although towards the end of the series, there was an indication that Ting may accept George eventually.
Well, I hope there will be a change in the sequel which was said to be coming up soon.

Likes about the series:
The touch towards society; especially the sensitivity towards the middle class society. Also, the differences shown between the higher class and middle class and how sometimes perception can be too generalized by the society.

Dislikes about the series:
Maybe the theme song, I just find it a little weird, but that's just me.
Also, the chemistry between all the couples portrayed did not seem very believable and was evidently lacking in their portrayal.

Verdict:
Good watch, definitely worth the 20 episodes and not draggy at all.

Rating: 4/5

Movie Review:My Big Fat Greek Wedding (2002)

Year Produced: 2002

Director: Joel Zwick
Producers: Gary Goetzman, Tom Hanks, Rita Wilson
Writer: Nia Vardalos
Studio: Playtone, Gold Circle Films, MPH Entertainment, HBO Pictures
Distributors: IFC Films, Hollywood Pictures
Language: English
Country of Origin: Canada, United States

Cast:
Nia Vardalos as Fotoula Portokalos/Toula
John Corbett as Ian Miller
Lainie Kazan as Maria Portokalos
Michael Constantine as Kostas Portokalos/Gus
Ian Gomez as Mike
Andrea Martin as Aunt Voula
Stavroula Logothettis as Athena Portokalos
Louis Mandylor as Nick Portokalos
Gia Carides as Cousin Nikki
Joey Fatone as Cousin Angelo
Bruce Gray as Rodney Miller
Fiona Reid as Harriet Miller
Arielle Sugarman as Paris Miller
Jayne Eastwood as Mrs. White

Supporting:
Christina Eleusiniotis as Toula Portokalos at Age 6
Marita Zouravlioff as Toula Portokalos at Age 12
Kaylee Vieira as Schoolgirl
John Kalangis as Greek Teacher

Synopsis/Plot/Storyline:
Fotoula/Toula Portokalos (Nia Vardalos) is a Greek; and she knows the fact very well, being reminded by her big and loud family's existence in her life since young. In school, she was constantly ridiculed for her weird lunch boxes and all she wished for was to be accepted by the normal kids in her school. In her teen years, she grudgingly drags her feet to Greek classes while her peers enjoy other activities and her house stood out like a sore thumb in a typical American neighborhood.


Toula remains unmarried at the age of 30 and works in her family's restaurant, Dancing Zorba; while her sisters were married earlier, as practised by the typical Greeks. She stood out from the other Greeks despite her father's constant nagging about her unmarried status; which was abnormal for her age in the Greek culture. However, Toula wanted more things in her life besides being married for the sake of fulfilling the demands of her culture and more than that, she wanted to find true love that swept her off her feet when it happens. Besides romance, Toula also wanted to achieve more things in her life and to establish her own career.

Her age and physical appearance made Toula developed a rather low self esteem when dealing with others; especially with men and when she laid her eyes on a handsome man who dined in her restaurant (John Corbett), she ended up making a fool of herself and hiding from him due to her previous experiences with social awkwardness although the man found her antics enchanting.
Bored with her typical daily work at the restaurant, Toula sought the help of her mother to persuade her father to allow her to enrol for computer classes; and her supportive mother manipulated her father into believing that he was the one who came up with the idea.

When Toula expressed her interest in working in a travel agency run by her aunt, her mother again wrestled her father's mind into believing that he suggested the idea and Toula was delighted to have finally found a new place in her life as she fitted comfortably into her job.


At the same time, Toula decided a change was inevitable and started to spruce up her own appearance to give herself a fresh outlook. Dropping her old-fashioned spectacles for contact lenses and dressing up in a more modern style, Toula soon became a more confident person.
When the handsome man walked past her travel agency and tried to get to know her, Toula was pleased with him being interested in her. They soon started dating; and Toula found out that the handsome man was Ian Miller, a school teacher and their little romance soon blossomed into something more serious than just a fling.

Toula was apprehensive in telling her family about Ian; especially her father as Ian is not Greek and tried to hide their relationship from them.

However, her father, Gus, soon found out and he was clearly displeased with the fact that Ian was not Greek and tried to stop Toula from seeing Ian; which failed. Ian then proposed to Toula who delightfully accepted, and as they embark on their journey to plan the wedding, that was when the series of unfortunate events follows.

When Toula and Ian arranged for their parents to meet at Toula's place in what was said to be a private event, Toula, along with Ian's parents were horrified by the large gathering with what seemed to be the entire of the Portokalos family! Ian's parents; Rodney (Bruce Gray) and Harriet (Fiona Reid) was overwhelmed by the culture shock unfolding in front of them but they tried to adapt to the large amounts of food and drinks and also the rowdy environment and even ended up getting drunk after accepting drink after drink. Toula's father, Gus, on the other hand, also was shocked to discover the fact that Ian was vegetarian!


As the wedding planning continued, Toula was surprised by the antics pulled by her big and interfering family in her plans, which included her mother deciding and ordering the invitations with Ian's parents name misspelled. Then the second shock comes when Toula's cousin Nikki (Gia Carides) orders all tacky blue bridesmaid dresses on her own, intending to surprise Toula with what they believed to be beautiful.


Her wedding day soon arrived, and Toula was still not spared from the drama as she wakes up to find a big zit on her face and the whole family tries to help her hide it.

The wedding ceremony took place in the Greek Orthodox Church; which Gus wanted and Ian agreed to (he was also baptized to please Gus), followed by the noisy and happening reception.
When Gus gave his speech and announced that he had bought Toula and Ian a new house; handing them the keys during the reception, Toula was touched and hugged her father.

It was shown several years later that Toula and Ian have a daughter, Paris, whom they raise in Greek style and as they left the house with their daughter, Toula's old house and her parents were just next doors; indicating that Gus had bought them the house beside them.
Toula was happy with the fact, and had learnt to accept her own birth rights and family; that though they were rowdy and tend to be humiliating, they will always be a part of her and that they are a family.

Christy's Review:

A movie entailing all the juicy details of wedding planning; including that of families' intervention and the overall ups and downs of a journey towards the wedding day. Any bride who had planned their own wedding would definitely be able to share in the sentiments of the frustrations and dilemma of being torn between her own family and also fulfilling her own dreams of being a bride. The movie, besides showing that part about the bride's struggles, was also about accepting one's identity and family.
I find this a heart-warming drama, and focuses on all the right aspects of the general perception of a wedding; besides the romance and comedy on two different people waiting to behin their lives together. It is a story of acceptance, of understanding and bridging the differences.

My Big Fat Greek Wedding is not just a romantic comedy alone; but it is a compelling story about how a bride-to-be struggles to deal with her own family and discovering her identity before joining two families together. Marriage here, is depicted in a realistic light that it is not about two people alone but it is a union of the families attached to the two individuals; and like it or not, they come in a package.
True, there are times when we are frustrated by people who love us the most, but they are still those who are dearest to us and that is a fact that can never be changed at all in our lifetime.
This is not a story about wedding nor romance, nor the hilarious antics; it is about love, and acceptance, and for that, this movie in my opinion, is highly entertaining and successful.

Likes about the movie:
The antics of the Portokalos family; which comes across as a highly eccentric family but one filled with love and warmth.

Dislikes about the movie:
Nothing much, as the movie is just entertaining for the two hours! Okay, maybe the Portokalos was a little too noisy for my liking sometimes too :p

Verdict:
Highly recommended for brides-to-be, and especially if you are one facing the crisis of your family driving you crazy. Of course, this is a movie for families and all ages too, as it teaches much apart from romance and laughs.

Rating: 4/5

TVB: The Mysteries of Love (談情說案) 2010

Year Produced: 2010
Producer: Lau Kar Ho


Opening/Ending Theme: 直到你不找我 by Raymond Lam


No. of episodes: 25
Language: Cantonese

Main Cast:
Raymond Lam Fung - Kingsley King Pok/Professor King
Tavia Yeung Yi - Chui Siu Lai/Sai Lei Mui
Kenneth Ma - Gordon Lo Tin Hang
Bernice Liu - Nicole Ling Man Ka

Supporting Cast:
Chui Family
Cheung Kwok Keung - Ancestor (Appearance in Episode 1 and in picture)
Law Lok Lam - Chui Sir/Chui Hon Fei (Dad)
Fung So Bor - Leung Sau Ngo (Mum)
Evergreen Mak - Chui Kwok On (Eldest Brother)
Ng Wai Shan - Tai Chui Sheung (Sister-in-Law)
Alex Lam - Chui Kwok Leung (2nd Brother)
Lawrence Ng Lok Wang - Chui Ka Hei (Nephew)

King Family
Ram Chiang - Ancestor
Lee Kwok Lun - Philip King Yin (Dad)
Mary Hon Ma Lei - Victoria Cheung Wai Chu (Mum)
Candy Chiu - Anastasia King Chi
Yu Tze Ming - Uncle George/King Chuk

Police Department
Astrid Chan - Madam Koo
Jack Wu - Chim Chi Ko

Others
Leanne Li - Bowie Choi Bo Yi
Stephen Huynh - Adrian

Synopsis/Plot/Storyline:

Taking crime solving dramas to a different notch, this is one which includes the study and application of physics and science in the cases.
Kingsley (Raymond Lam) is the youngest physics expert and his intelligence even garnered him as a genius in his own field. Recognized for his exceptional skills and capabilities, Kingsley was invited to be an associate professor in the local Hong Kong University.
His knowledge and skills also led him to be sought after by his best friend, Gordon (Kenneth Ma), who heads the crime investigation unit in the police department.


Under the wing of Gordon is a dedicated and promising policewoman, Sai Lei Mui/Chui Siu Lai (Tavia Yeung) who works hard at her job and gets along well with everyone around her due to her easy going skills. Her cheerful outlook in life made her liked by her co-workers and even Kingsley found himself attracted to her; something which he deciphered to be a work of science as he explains the stirring sense of affection in his heart for her.

However, the romance between Lai and Kingsley was doomed from the start as they soon realized that their ancestors had crossed paths in the past and they were even sworn enemies following an incident. To add fuel to the fire, Kingsley's family; being a prominent one in the society were displeased with Lai's family background and also their social status as compared to themselves.

The history of their ancestors and a small feud over a painting were just contributing factors to ruining their relationship, and Kingsley well-educated Uncle George's distaste in Lai's education level and also culture just makes it worse.

As Kingsley's parents pressured him on their perceived incompatibility with Lai, he decided to back out of the relationship and broke up with Lai in haste. Lai was devastated with the breakup as she had gone through hardships and was even willing to sacrifice her job to maintain the relationship with Kingsley. Angered and disappointed in Kingsley, Lai then returned to her job as an armed policewoman (she had earlier requested to transfer to the administration department which is more of an office job nature to please Kingsley's family.
Her family supported her, although her father was upset with her decision initially when she sacrificed so much for her love for Kingsley. After the break up, her loving family was behind her and though her father was happy that she was finally doing what she liked at work, he worried for her emotions and mental health as she buries herself in her work to get over the breakup with Kingsley.


Gordon(Kenneth Ma), is the other lead character alongside Kingsley; being his best friend and the police inspector who was in charge of solving all the cases in the drama. At work, Gordon is a serious and committed person who runs the whole crime investigation team with discipline.


However, after work, Gordon is a frolicking playboy who constantly pursues girls for pleasure and sex and his casual partner whom he shares that basis of relationship is air stewardess Nicole (Bernice Liu).

Gordon never put much thought into a serious relationship with Nicole until she announced that she has started seeing a pilot, Adrian (Stephen Huynh), after she returns from a trip. Realizing that he was jealous, Gordon looked forward to them breaking up and when he witnessed Adrian with other women, he told Nicole with the hope of them ending their relationship. However, Nicole was adamant to continue dating Adrian and even wants to marry him. Gordon went to all sorts of extent to prove his love and finally confronted his true feelings to win Nicole back to his side.


The two romantic plots probably dominated a part of the drama, which was filled with a set of interesting murder crimes with evidences and the use of science knowledge in deciphering the incidents which could possibly take place in the event of the occurrence of the crime.
Most of the cases combined the analytical skills of the police force and also the logical reasoning of science in affecting certain aspects of a case, and the lead characters just added the drama and social aspects to completing the series.

Happy ending prevails after all the cases; with Kingsley finally realizing his love for Lai and tries to win her back along with Gordon's efforts to keep Nicole by his side.

Characters Analysis/Review:
Raymond Lam as Kingsley King Pok/Professor King

I consider myself not a devoted fan nor someone who is anti Raymond, but somehow, I just felt like he was just so wrong in this role. Seriously, to have Raymond playing a solid character with vast knowledge in science and be extremely confident in his skills is totally unbelievable. Kingsley may be a young genius, but Raymond just did not seem to fit the description and I can see that even Raymond had a hard time to comprehend that fact as he struggles to play the cool and poised expert in physics field; wearing that same bored and wooden expression for all 25 episodes. He is not a bad actor really, but this role is just not for him. I cannot even imagine him with a name Kingsley, it just seems so out of the world.
Anyway, despite the misfit of Raymond in this role, the character Kingsley himself just annoys me and I don't care whether he is a smart professor or a genius, he is definitely lousy in handling matters of the heart and everything about him just screams weak to me.

Tavia Yeung Yi as Chui Siu Lai/Sai Lei Mui

A great actress really, she just plays this role to near perfection. I love her character, and somehow Tavia always just seems to be at ease in all her roles; whether it was sweet next-door girl or a cool professional, and even in her breakthrough role as an evil villain in another series. She was a little tomboyish in here, but yet she shared that feminine side like a little cute puppy in love when the charming eligible bachelor professes his love for her. The best performance came when she had that emotional outburst in public when Kingsley breaks up with her; one could truly felt the pain and despair she had at that point, with her screaming and tears flowing down her cheeks. I was a little surprised and annoyed with the ending though; as she seemed to be able to forget the weakness in Kingsley and still accepted his proposal which I felt was just a hasty way to end the drama and to give their romance a conclusion.

Kenneth Ma as Gordon Lo Tin Hang

A very convincing performance by Kenneth Ma; and I just feel that this rather stiff actor in the beginning is improving so much in all his roles and it was evident in this drama. I find him funny and more believable in his outward charm which camouflaged his flaws deep inside; insecurity and lack of confidence sometimes. A down-to-earth guy who separates his personalities from his work and home, but that just depicts the realistic average being out there in the world.

Bernice Liu as Nicole Ling Man Ka

I find this character a little annoying to a certain extent as she tries to play a casual dater; and a woman who just seemed too cool for us to believe in. Nothing exceptional as this is just a role that suits Bernice who has that realistic English accent, although it's just frustrating to hear how the others in the drama just pronounced Nicole in a very weird way.

Christy's Review:
A very interesting profile to take the typical TVB crime/police dramas to a new level, and a fresh breath with the inclusion of science; particularly physics. However, I find this drama just disturbingly similar to the nature of an earlier Japanese drama; Galileo, to which Mysteries of Love was compared and also accused of plagiarizing.
Despite this being a new breed of drama, I was still disappointed that TVB had to stoop to copying ideas from their Japanese counterparts and I think this is not the first drama to do so. An earlier drama; Every Move You Make was also accused to copy the notion of popular American drama, Lie To Me.
I do hope that TVB reprise their own creativity; and take a step back to relish and relive the memories of their own Hall of Fame with all the great series in the past? There is definitely much more in TVB than needing story inspirations from others.

It is hard not to compare Mysteries of Love to Galileo; as the character of Kingsley just sticks out like a sore thumb to constantly remind of the exact same character in the Japanese series.
However, I find this drama still enjoyable, or maybe I just like the nature of both dramas which revolves around crime solving.

One thing; I do find it annoying that TVB constantly tries to force their actors to speak English to make viewers believe the part that the character returned from overseas. It sounds unnatural, and far from believing that part of the drama (and of the actor), I would strongly suggest to select actors who could truly speak native English and not some falsified accent which makes it even more unrealistic.

Likes about the series:
The cases and also the characters of Tavia and Kenneth; which somehow I felt was more suitable for each other compared to their alleged partners they were paired with.
Also, the supportive family of Tavia just adds the warmth of family love to the drama; and the enchanting and comical characters of her two elder brothers just add to the laughs and lightheartedness of the story.


Dislikes about the series:
Plagiarism, and some weird accents used in the drama.

Verdict:
Overall, I find it funny and confusing that I still like the drama nevertheless (but I hope something is done about the plagiarism in the future) as it is still an entertaining watch.

Rating: 3.5/5

Disclaimer: Photos are images of TVB.com and are only for illustration purposes.