Mar 25, 2011

拍。卖 Secrets For Sale

I have to confess that I am addicted to the show. Rarely has a local drama series been so good as to prompt me to wonder why local productions don't sell overseas (Little Nonya doesn't make the cut) when such an excellent one lies before my eyes. Hip, sassy, not a dull moment, with plenty of cool action sequences, entertaining dialogue, and suspenses a-plenty to keep the viewers hooked.

Not to mention a hilarious Christopher Lee whose entrance as a scoundrel of a down luck ex-famous photographer with a chasing string of loan sharks in tow, is surely an award-worthy performance for his naturalness and unafraidness to uglify himself. A perfect foil for Jessica Liu, whose protaganist character as a PI firm owner guilt antsy-ing over the traumatic abduction of her sister's family while on a Malaysia trip, would have been too tragic an angle and totally unfun if not for Christopher's character constantly getting on her nerves and asking for it.


Even the side characters are memorable, especially Lin Mei Jiao whose comic turn as a PI auntie employee is a scream to watch.

But what makes this show truly stand out are its good production values and portrayal of Singapore in a way that endears me to our familiar surroundings, be it the extended scene of Christopher searching anxiously in the Bras Basah vicinity for Jessica's niece, the pulsating chase scenes in the back alleys of our shophouses, or even the secretive stalking of clandestine going-ons at a Hotel 81 window..

Yes, it actually gave me the same feeling as the critically acclaimed local movie, Sandcastle, even though they can't be more different. Arthouse or mainstream entertainment, I say gritty shows like these will make much better ambassadors of Singapore culture than any fake STB clip will ever hope to achieve, oops..

Alas, only 3 more episodes to go for my nightly thriller fix. I can't wait to unravel - to the catchy tune of the adrenalin-pumping soundtrack - the mystery of the 2 underlying story arcs concerning the abduction and Christopher's framed scandal past, or maybe they are linked. Just a hunch, somehow.. maybe.. Thomas Ong, in a sinister turn here as Jessica's seemingly goody-two-shoes boyfriend, is the mastermind behind it all!

Too far-fetched? Well, the writers and production team have so far done an incredible job in making an exciting highly-charged escapade tale take place plausibly and believably in what-do-you-know, safe old staid Singapore! Who says Singapore is boring? We are cool, man..


1 comment:

  1. I agreed! i think the mastermind is Thomas Ong but i cant bring myself to dislike him! he is too cool~

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