"Tiger Cubs" Review

"Tiger Cubs", with its high budget and quality of production as well as its cast ensemble, is easily the best series of the year hands down.

The series seemingly flies by with its straightforward plot and quick pace.  It has viewers hooked from beginning to end, without ever wavering in quality or consistency too much like typical TVB series do. From the first episode, it is clear the effort that was put into the series.   From the cinematic-like filming style, to the thrilling and well shot action sequences, to the wonderful ensemble of characters, "Tiger Cubs" is the most quality production of the year.

Cast and Characters

"Tiger Cubs" is easily most beloved for its young SDU boys, which consist of Oscar Leung, Him Law, Vincent Wong, William Chak, and Benjamin Yuen.


Oscar Leung receives the best character of his career with "Chong Chuk Yuen", as the role allowed him to shine and show his charisma and potential as a future leading actor.  Unlike his usual more rough and comic relief-type roles, Oscar is a gentlemanly, calm, mature, and sweet young man with a romantic side here, something we've never been able to see much of before.  Despite the age difference, he realistically portrays the brotherly friendship between him and Joe with ease as well as the sibling chemistry with Jessica.  And of course, his signature wink was adorable.

The fabulous acting by the young cast does not stop at Oscar though.  Him Law portrays the confident, cocky, rash, and impulsive "Yu Hok Lai" naturally and without a problem.  He matures and develops a close friendship with the team's technician So Man Keung (portrayed by Mandy Wong) as he helps her get over her fear of heights and achieve her goal of becoming the first female SDU member.  I can not deny he is one of the best actors of his generation and has what it takes to be a lead actor.

Vincent Wong delivers his most natural performance to date as "Yau Chun Hin".  In contrast to his best buddy Ah Lai, Hin Jai is humble and patient, but is insecure and lacks self esteem due to the pressure he feels from his family, which is full of heroic and accomplished cops.  Ah Hin was the character with the most potential, and I had looked forward to seeing him mature and become more confident as the series progressed.  Unfortunately, the script did not seem to have any intentions of focusing in on Vincent (notice he's the only one of the main SDU guys to not have any love interest), as he had the least screen time.  His character development was executed in a disappointingly abrupt and brief fashion.  Regardless, Vincent did wonderfully with what he was given.  In the early episodes, you could see the hesitation in his eyes as he started SDU training.    He also finally shed his habit of adding in English words and phrases to his lines.

No one had expected Hin Jai to be the one to die.  (Thanks to a prank by Jessica, who had "confessed" her character died early on during its airing.  This turned out to be a stunt by Jessica and Vincent to keep the actual ending under wraps.  Very clever, Jess...)  Hin died in such a tragic, graphic, and gruesome way.  Huge props to him for giving such a memorable performance in his last scene.  His death already had me in tears, and seeing the character try to utter one last smile to the world before he passed made my heart break.  Fantastic acting touch.  Previously, I already loved Vincent for his real life down to earth personality but thought his acting left much to be desired.  He shows he has what it takes to be a solid actor here, and I will be cheering for him all the way.  If a sequel does happen, I will greatly miss his presence.

Mandy Wong, like usual, delivers solidly and is perhaps the only female of the male dominated cast that is likable and interesting.  Christine Kuo gives what was hands down the weakest performance with her scattered Cantonese and English and bimbo-like character.  William Chak did well in the one episode he had the spotlight (the tour bus storyline), and I look forward to seeing more of him.


Although our lead actors perform adequately, they fail to shine and instead are overshadowed by the bright group of youngsters I mentioned above (excluding Christine).  Joe Ma, as our leading man, anchors the SDU team as their leader, but fails to leave an impression like the others.  He is likable as the hardworking "Chin Sir" who cared deeply for his subordinates.  As a character with not much of a dynamic though, he was easily outshined.

Jessica Hsuan portrays a different type of police officer here as the depressed and suicidal "Madam Chong".  While she delivers, it is hard to make this type of character likable as the depressed and suicidal state (understandably) of Madam Chong rid her of her personality and livelihood.  When she recovered though, she lost the only major dynamic she had.  However, as Joe and Jessica's relationship finally started to fall for each other, they did get some smiles out of me.  The scene where they are both sitting at the dining table stealing glances at each other was awkwardly adorable.


Other Notable Performances

This review would not be complete without mentioning the series' resident ultimate villains Kenneth Ma and JJ Jia, who made their debut in the first episode and returned in the last for a nail biting finale. Kenneth is chilling, frightening, and convincing as "To Tin Yau".  JJ Jia gives a decent performance as well.  However, they have already received endless praise for their roles, and I would like to mention others too.

Kenny Wong appeared in what was an underrated guest star role.  While I'm not usually fond of the actor, he gives a heartbreaking performance as the loving father forced into committing crime to get money for his sick son's surgery.  You could see the guilt in his eyes and that he genuinely did not wish to hurt anyone, especially in his last confrontational scene with Mandy.  Despite doing a bad thing, he sparked sympathy through the portrayal of all the emotions the character felt while doing it.  Jazz Lam was adorable, pitiful, and convincing as (autistic?) young boy whose life long dream is to be a cop and take care of his mom.  He is such a valuable and rare actor.

Lastly, a shout out to my favorite "underdog" artist, Patrick Tang.  He appeared in the series as a regular under Jessica's team.  Though "Ben" is Patrick's smallest role yet (I smell demotion), he makes the most out of the very minor but likable character.  It was nice to see Patrick in a more professional and mature role.  I loved the character's loyalty to Jessica as well as his subtle touches of humor.


The Series in General

The plot isn't one that sparks thinking or deep meaning, but the writing is above average for TVB's shoddy scripts these days.  The change in format was refreshing and proved to work well.  Since it clocked in with slightly longer episodes, but a shorter overall episode count at just 13, this made "Tiger Cubs" more consistent and less prone to cliches and filler material.  In fact, by the series' end, there is still a lot of potential for further development.  A majority of the scenes served a purpose, and unlike most TVB series today, doesn't stray from the point.  Additionally, the cinematic like filming style and high budget makes it look much more presentable, professional, and more attractive to look at.  It is the rare instance that they try something new and different and succeeded.  Quality isn't compensated, it's even better.  I appreciate how it still has the familiar feel of a TVB series, but attempts new things and actually executes it well.

Highlights

• The brotherhood, friendship, and chemistry between the characters.  The SDU team truly felt like a team, and I'll miss them!
• The action sequences/climaxes.  The cases themselves were fine, but not overly intriguing.  However, the climaxes always had me sitting at the edge of my seat!
• The finale.  Never has the finale of a TVB series had me so nervous, stressed, and thrilled!  My heart was probably pounding by the second half of the finale. 

Overall

You don't break what's not broken.  However, recent TVB series have indeed been broken - in other words they've mostly sucked.  "Tiger Cubs" takes a familiar formula but improves upon it with outstanding acting, cinematography, style, and action.  The script is no masterpiece, but it is through its execution that "Tiger Cubs" shines like a diamond.  

Rating: 4.5 stars

A.E. Insights: Current and Rising Siu Sangs of TVB

It's been many years since TVB raised and promoted their last group of siu sangs (Raymond Lam, Bosco Wong, Ron Ng, and Kenneth Ma). These four men all had different strengths and weaknesses, and are all now at varied peaks and lows in their careers. With many artists busy with looking for other work and money making opportunities, TVB is now left in a dilemma. So our question is...

TOPIC: What is your opinion of the previous promoted siu sangs and how are they doing so many years later? Also, with the drainage of lead actors, who should become the next siu sangs?


Iris: Raymond, Bosco, Ron, and Kenneth are all successful now, but at differing degrees.  I personally think they're all talented and handsome guys, but very different from each other and now all at different positions.

If you had asked me who was my favorite out of the four before "Moonlight Resonance" came out in 2008, I would've quickly said Raymond Lam.  Besides being good looking, he had the best acting chops out of the four and most charisma.  He delivered memorable performances that left an impact.  From 2002's "A Step into the Past" to 2006's "La Femme Desperado", there was no question: Raymond was definitely the best actor out of the new generation.  I absolutely loved him in "Survivor's Law".  He shined as the kind, witty, passionate, yet slightly gullible lawyer.  Unfortunately, his career made a turn for the worst following the hugely successful "Moonlight Resonance". His popularity skyrocketed, and he received characters that capitalized on his success as an idol/pretty face instead of the talented actor he truly is. All of his roles since MR have been boring and fail to show his versatility and charm.  Nowadays though, I wouldn't say I have a favorite out of the four.  What about you, Niki?

Niki: Now I'm desperately trying to remember some of the older series I've seen them in and drawing a blank, hehe > u <; I did remember Raymond in "La Femme Desperado", Raymond did have a very likable character. His acting was natural and playful and he carried the emotions well. Yeah, his characters now emphasize on his looks and the characters themselves had nothing much to them. But I don't think I had a favorite, just because I didn't really know or bother to pay attention to the actors back then. Now, I think I would choose Kenneth as my favorite. He's a pretty good actor and his sweet and innocent personality outside just makes me favor him a bit more.  

Iris: Kenneth would probably be my current choice in terms of solely acting and personality.  He's shown acting skills and vast improvements.  I also really like his offscreen personality as well, as he is a modest, humble, shy, yet playful and youthful person.  However, like many people have noted, Kenneth lacks the charisma.  He has the likability and sincerity, but not the "X-Factor" that some people are just born with, which affects how memorable he can or can not be in his performances.

As for Bosco and Ron, they were more of the "heart throbs" back when they first started with mainly teenage fan bases.  In contrast to Kenneth, they have the charisma, but are not as skilled in the acting department.  In recent years, they've been demoted to second lead roles.  In Bosco's case, this has actually come to benefit him.  Not quite ready to take on lead roles, being demoted allow him to take on different roles and develop his acting more in a smaller capacity.  This setback paid off for him as he received critical acclaim for his supporting role in "Lives of Omission".

Unfortunately, things have only gotten worse for Ron.  He gave the most memorable performance of his career when reprising the role of "Chung Lap Man" in "E.U." in 2009, and was the most natural and emotive he had ever been.  He continued giving solid performances in "A Chip Off the Old Block" and "OL Supreme", successfully shedding his "impulsive hothead" typecast.  However, with his vast improvements, he became demoted to second lead and 2011 became the worst year for him so far in terms of roles and performances.  They all either lacked a dynamic, were underdeveloped, or just plain unlikable, not allowing him to show his acting skill.  Even in "L'Escargot", he was only able to show his acting in his one crying scene.  Real life girlfriend Viann Zhang has only caused the actor more trouble and career bumpiness.  What is your opinion on Bosco and Ron?

Niki: Yeah, I get what you mean. Kenneth is sincere, but when it comes to charisma, he's beaten. For Bosco, I did take notice that he has a broader range of characters to work with. He turned from a witty and playful cop in "7 Days in Life" to the sly and manipulative gangster in "Lives of Omission" and managed to portray the characters well. Bosco can definitely take advantage of the demotion as his chance to improve his acting skills and he also has Myolie supporting him mentally (and also perhaps through the very expensive gifts they like to give each other). As for Ron, I really feel sorry for him. When he finally improves, his characters couldn't get more boring. I hope he gets better characters soon and also that his girlfriend won't keep making trouble for him to fix. Speaking of "OL Supreme" though, I really liked his dorky character "Ah K"; he was so cute there. This year, I would say his character in "Forensic Heroes" was likable and had potential. But in the end, he didn't have enough screen time and the character ended up being under developed. If it wasn't for that, maybe that character could have been a pick up for Ron this year. For "L' Escargot" though, I remember you mentioning that even though his acting was solid during that emotive scene he was still over shadowed by Linda?

So, Ron's heart breaking tale aside and moving on from our old siu sangs, who do you think will be the up and coming ones?

Iris: Yes, Linda received praise for her crying scene when all she did was scrunch up her face and force out a couple tears. Meanwhile, Ron fully emoted and even had snot coming out of his nose. I hope in the future, Ron will get better roles before I completely forget he's a decent actor.

And now to discuss the next siu sangs of TVB.  Ruco Chan and Raymond Wong are the latest to have been promoted to lead actor, and both came with over a decade of experience.  This makes it hard for the young and newer actors to catch up.  Most recently, Jason Chan has been given the chance to lead in an upcoming series with Linda, so that will be interesting to watch.  Jason's handsome and friendly exterior, coupled with his educated and modest personality make him very likable.  However, his acting is still green and could use a lot of work.

Niki: Ah yes, Jason. I heard that he was being promoted lately. What is his drama with Linda? His acting should improve as he goes along.

There's also Matthew Ko, who was recently in "Sergeant Tabloid". I don't know if he's going to be a siu sang in the future, since his acting still needs work. But his character in "Sergeant Tabloid" was cute and likable, and he was able to garner some attention. It was a good improvement from when he was in "Man in Charge", where he was still unnatural and quite wooden in front of the camera. His handsome and charming looks makes him a good candidate to promote though. I also appreciate his straightforward personality.  It's quite refreshing.

Iris: Jason and Linda are starring in "Ferris Wheel of Happiness", which is a romance drama I think.  It is a smaller production, so it'll allow Jason to improve without having such a large weight on his shoulders.

I agree with what you said about Matthew.  He showed significant improvements in "Sergeant Tabloid", but I'm unsure as to if his acting truly improved or if it was the character.  Whatever it is, he shows potential.  He has the looks and charm, and is starting to improve.  I also like his straightforward and honest personality, which is hard to come by in the entertainment industry.  He's not ready to be lead yet, but I hope TVB gives him good supporting roles and potentially groom him into a siu sang in the future.

The one I have the most confidence in being the next siu sang though, is Edwin Siu.  He has been in the industry since 2002 and starred in "Aqua Heroes" in 2004, where his acting was mediocre.  However, since returning to TVB in 2008 and restarting his whole career, his acting has improved by heaps and bounds.  He's worked very hard, and it shows.  This year, he surprised and impressed everyone with his comedic talent in "Daddy Good Deeds" and made a complete 360 in "Gloves Come Off" as a semi-villain.  He has the hardworking and modest personality, charm, talent, and handsome yet cute looks.  He definitely has what it takes, and has the most range of all the rising actors right now.  All I'm saying is, he better get the recognition and promotion he deserves!

Niki: Edwin definitely has what it takes to become a siu sang. If TVB would open its eyes and promote him better I would be so happy. He was adorable in "Daddy Good Deeds"; he and Steven were the best part of the show. He really surprised me with his role in "Gloves Come Off". I didn't expect it, but he was actually able to scare me. His character didn't get that much screen time, being a minor role, but Edwin really shined and made the most out of it.

But speaking of recognition, Him Law is getting a lot of attention lately and all for the wrong things. All we've been hearing lately is rumors and scandals of Him, from him dating Tavia to the photo shoot case, as opposed to his acting. However, he is a pretty good actor, and his popularity is growing right now. So what do you think of him as a future siu sang?

Iris: Out of the younger guys, Him is the most natural actor. He has a lot of potential and has improved. However, he is definitely getting recognized for all the wrong things and has become a regular tabloid target. His real life personality is probably the worst out of everyone's with a history of domestic violence and several scandals, which makes it hard for me to look beyond it and truly enjoy his acting nowadays. Him is probably TVB's first choice to promote right now, but I hope Edwin gets the recognition he deserves too and that Him matures. In general, Him is an actor who I like as an actor, but not as a person.

In contrast to Him, Vincent Wong is someone whose real life personality is very likable but his acting leaves much to be desired. I have heard good things about Vincent being a friendly
and down to earth person, and something about him makes him seem approachable, unlike Him. His acting though is only acceptable. He presents likability in his performances, but doesn't possess a lot of charm and his acting still needs work. He is most likely not becoming a siu sang anytime soon too, as he is a new father and he and wife Yoyo Chen are taking off time from acting.

Niki: Him really does have the worse personality out of the potential stars right now. He should change that soon or it could be what ruins him. And I agree with what you said about Vincent. His acting is nothing special, but his personality is very likable. Even though he's not going to become a siu sang anytime soon, it's nice that he's spending some time with his family.

Another rising star seems to be Benjamin Yuen. He has been getting praises lately for his acting in the sitcom "Til Love Do Us Lie" and in "Hippocratic Crush". After watching these two series, I can say that Benjamin has good acting skills. He's natural in his performance and is likable, but his roles are still limited. Looks wise, he's not extremely handsome but still possesses a good amount of charisma. While he's a good actor and has the charisma, I still don't see him in a lead role yet. Perhaps it's because he hasn't gotten too many significant roles yet, but he's someone to look out for.

Iris: I didn't watch either series, but I have heard many good things about Benjamin's performance and character. I actually first noticed him back when he debuted in "Your Class or Mine", which was also where I first noticed Him. It's nice to see that he's showing more potential and talent. He's far from being lead actor material right now, but it's nice to see him getting praise and more major roles.

One last notable actor is Oscar Leung, who has consistently given solid and memorable performances despite portraying minor roles. His popularity and recognition level has increased since "L'Escargot", which makes me happy. For some reason, I can't seem to see him in a lead role though. He's probably not very favored by TVB executives. Perhaps second male lead?

With the drainage of artists and amount of artists that are still relatively green, it's hard to choose who has what it takes to be the next few siu sangs. I think just having the guys experiment with different and increasingly major roles will tell. If I were to pick a few that could potentially be the next group of siu sangs though, I'd say promote and invest in Edwin Siu and Him Law, then train Jason Chan, Matthew Ko, and Benjamin Yuen to eventually fill the void. The one with the most popularity is definitely Him, but I think Edwin will have the most successful long time career. All these guys have their individual charms, strengths, and weaknesses, and I'm interested in seeing where their careers take them the next few years.

Niki: I can't see Oscar in a leading role either, but he does definitely deserves bigger roles. Second lead should be appropriate, he'll be able to expand his abilities further.

The next couple of years will surely be interesting. The artists drainage will provide a great opportunities for these new batch of artists to rise. Their career roads should be bright if they take this chance to improve themselves. With so many artists leaving now hopefully TVB will take good advantage of these potential stars. In time, with some polishing, training, and investment Edwin Siu, Him Law, Jason Chan, Matthew Ko, and Benjamin Yuen will be ready to make up for the lack in leads.

Wish and Switch Drama Review

**Beware of Spoilers** 

Wish and Switch was a lighthearted comedy as well as supernatural themed drama. When the drama had first been introduced, I had some doubts about it. The idea of body switching was peculiar and hoped it wouldn't turn out ridiculous or far fetched. But after it had aired I was pleased to find out it was engaging and enjoyable. The plot was easy to follow with nice comedy relief whenever it was getting dramatic. I was very fond of the drama until the last 5 episodes.

Characters/Performances:

Myolie did a great job as the caring and thrifty housewife, but the character itself irked me. Suk Heung's personality, while kindhearted and innocent, was stupid and easily manipulated. My irritation of Suk Heung grew as the series went on, but her sincere and selfless personality prevented me from hating her. On the other hand Myolie's was able to showcase her comedic talent, which I've always enjoyed.

Selena also did a fantastic job in her role as Hailey. I loved Hailey throughout the entire drama, especially in scenes where her clever personality shined. She was able to handle her emotional scene as well as comedic scenes well without over reacting. I've always liked Selena, but I've never noticed her that much. However, after watching Wish and Switch my liking for her has definitely grown.  Hopefully she'll get more chances to shine in the future.

Johnson Lee was probably the most dislike-able character in the series. At first, I rather liked his character Ka Yan for his innocent and loyal personality. However, as the series progressed I became more and more agitated by his character. It was obvious that his character was messed up badly. Johnson's performance was stable and convincing, but that couldn't make up for his poor character.

Vincent Wong's character was hard to bear and a bit scary at first, but after a couple of episodes his character became better and even sweet. One of my favorite scene has to be during the costume party. It was adorable how Wayne was able to pick out Hailey out of all the "princesses." By the end of the series I was rooting for him and Hailey to finally get together. Vincent is a decent actor and did well as the rich and prideful young master. But I felt he was still unnatural in expressing his emotions during some scenes.


The Story: 

At the beginning of the series it focused on Suk Heung and her family. It didn't take long for me to feel sorry for her, but soon my sympathy turned to irritation. I didn't get how a person can take care of so many people who show her no gratitude and even uses her for their own selfish reasons. During the entire series I was waiting for Suk Heung to take a stand and defend her pride, unfortunately that never happened.
The middle episodes where Suk Heung and Hailey switched bodies has to be my favorites. As they try to get used to each other's lives some interesting and funny situations develop. The two also showed off some nice chemistry. The scene where they went to the convenience store and used the drink bottles to cool each other off had me laughing out loud. The confessions and realization of their feelings between Wayne and Hailey was endearing as well.

The Ending:
After the first 15 episodes however, the drama starts to hurdle off track and became hard to bear. Johnson becoming a last minute villain was both ridiculous and unnecessary. It was funny how they blamed Ka Yan's drastic change in character on the website, yet he still ended up stealing money and causing Suk Heung's death after the machine was destroyed.
Lately TVB has a knack for killing off the leads an episode before the ending, so when I found out Myolie was going to die I thought to myself, how typical.  I was half expecting that she would die, but how she died was just ridiculous. If she had managed to hide Ka Yan from the gangsters, she could have thrown the money away and hide some where instead of saying, "Here I am with the money!" And finally the appearance of a doppelganger is once again, very typical. Of course he would find another girl exactly like his wife....
The ending for Wayne and Hailey was a bit weird for me as well. It seemed rather random that Wayne would suddenly come back with a new personality and propose to Hailey. Even though they justified it by saying he took a soul searching class, it was still too spontaneous. I was glad to see that Wayne and Hailey had a happy ending though.

Overall Wish and Switch had exceeded my original expectation. The two leading actresses did very well, performance wise. The story was interesting and had a nice balance of comedy and drama. But the drama would've been much better without the irrelevant episodes at the end.

Author's Note:

This is my first drama review! I was so excited to write this review since I had a lot to say about this drama. I tried to keep myself from rambling on and on about my confusion and agitation for the ending. This was also to keep my promise to Iris; I had promised her that I would try writing reviews for TVB (of course mine can never be as good as hers ;D). I hope you enjoyed reading. ^^
P.S. I loved Hailey's dog Rocky! I was so sad when he died. He was so adorable, but his "son" Souffle was cute too of course.