Five years after blockbuster drama Winter Sonata, Bae Yong Joon returns in the lavish historical fantasy The Legend (a.k.a. Four Gods). The Hallyu star portrays Korea’s legendary Gwanggaeto the Great, the 19th king of the Goguryeo Dynasty whose legacy of territorial expansion extended well beyond Manchuria. Created by the famous writer/director team behind 1995 blockbuster series Sandglass, this mythological historical fusion epic caused a major uproar in the media from the very start with its high-caliber cast that includes Moon So Ri (Oasis), Choi Min Soo (Sandglass), and Park Sang Won (Sandglass). The drama’s staggering $40 billion won production costs are rumored to have even exceeded the budget benchmark of sci-fi blockbuster D-War. After numerous postponements, The Legend finally exploded onto small screens nationwide on September 2007. With some critics and viewers placing the drama’s CG work in the same league as that of Hollywood film Lord of the Rings, The Legend boldly raised the bar of standards for Korean dramas. Bathed in mysterical splendor, the 24-episode series chronicles King Gwanggaeto’s entire life from his youth to his turmultous ascent to the throne and territorial conquests.

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This story takes place roughly 100 years before the Qin Shihuang Di launched his campaign to conquer all the other states during the Warring States Period of China’s history. The states during this period of constant conflicts were  Qin (?) Qi (?), Yan (?), Chu (?), Han (?), Zhao (?), and Wei (?). The Qin state at the start of the series was weak both militarily as well as economically although the drafted peasant soldiers displayed an unusually strong martial spirit.

Qin’s main antagonizer was the Wei state which was the strongest amongst all the states at that time and sought to subjugate the Qin state. Into this picture came a young scholar, Shang Yang (??) from Wei who was welcomed to Qin by Duke Xiao and was made his Chief Advisor. Shang Yang instituted wide ranging reforms from laws of the state to agricultural reforms. The basic tenant of his reforms follow that the Laws of the state are paramount over the people regardless of rank. He took land reforms to the extreme of taking land from the nobility and giving them to the peasants as private land.

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From the director of Strange Woman, Strange Man comes the family melodrama Likable or Not (a.k.a. I Hate You, But It’s Fine) starring a new generation of rising stars like Han Ji Hye (Sweet 18), Kim Ji Suk ( The Vineyard Man), and Cho Dong Hyuk (Mr. Goodbye). Like its predecessors, this daily drama has a firm foothold in the ratings chart. In 2005, Strange Woman, Strange Man came second only to the blockbuster drama Jumong in overall ratings, and Love in Heaven (a.k.a. Dear Heaven and Sky) dominated the national ratings for a number of weeks in early 2007. I Hate You, But It’s Fine has recently been enjoying the #1 spot in viewership, even beating out the two primetime heavyweights Four Gods and Dae Jo Young. Its mass appeal lies in the tried-and-true formula, presenting a warm family classic that revolves around everyday antics filled with lighthearted humor and occasional social messages to mix things up.

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The Donnie Yen-Wilson Yip tag team return with the blistering actioner Flash Point. The actor-director combo previously made waves with SPL and Dragon Tiger Gate, reaching new levels of excitement with their depiction of onscreen martial arts mayhem. Flash Point is a return to SPL territory – at least character-wise. This prequel to SPL finds Yen’s Inspector Ma involved in a difficult case versus a trio of deadly Vietnamese bad guys. Inspector Ma’s partner Wilson (Louis Koo) poses as a member of the gang to keep tabs on the trio, leading to the arrest of Archer (Ray Lui of To Be Number One). However, Archer’s cohorts Tony (Collin Chou of The Matrix Reloaded) and Tiger (Xing Yu of Kung Fu Hustle) are still at large, and will stop at nothing to prevent Wilson and other witnesses from testifying. When they kidnap Wilson’s girlfriend (Fan Bing Bing) to blackmail him, only Inspector Ma is willing to come to his partner’s aid – and whoever stands in his way had better watch out! In Flash Point, Donnie Yen utilizes Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) to portray Inspector Ma’s powerful fighting prowess. Yen pulls out a full arsenal of fighting techniques, from kung-fu to Muay Thai to jujitsu, especially during the film’s climactic mano-a-mano duel between Yen and Collin Chou, which should astound even the most jaded screen fighting fan. A duel between Yen and Xing Yu in street restaurant is also impressive, as are the flashes of stuntwork and gunplay from the action-ready cast. Louis Koo embodies his undercover cop character with appropriate pathos, and the cast is aided by the addition of award-winning actors, including Kent Cheng, Best Actor winner for The Log, and Helena Law Lan, Best Actress winner for Wilson Yip’s Bullets Over Summer.

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Fong Sai Yuk 1

Starring the fabulous Jet Li, this incredible historical epic with its deft blend of high drama, slapstick and more subtle forms of comedy coupled with breathtaking martial arts action, represents Hong Kong?filmmaking at its very best. The story contains many serpentine twists and a complex mixture of plots and subplots. The story is set during the Manchu dynasty in Canton. Li plays Sai-Yuk, a courageous young martial-arts expert who is the very best around, as can be seen in the opening kung-fu matches. Those he beats swear vengeance and a chaotic fight breaks out. All involved, including Sai-Yuk, end up in jail. Sai-Yuk’s father is most displeased. Later Tiger Lei, a local official, decrees that whoever can beat his wife Siu Huan in a match will win his daughter Ting Ting’s hand in marriage. Lei then builds an enormous scaffold on which the combatants will fight; the first fighter to touch the ground loses. Sai-Yuk gladly takes on the feisty mother.

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