And I Hate You So

Another beautiful movies that i could not say no to...even if it was release back on 2000 but still this is the movie that I will rewatch again and again. Well this romantic comedy quite nice to watch well something that you already know what the ending could be...it just beautiful...

1st Episode: 

The hate starts on a bad day for Luna Ng (Kelly Chen) - a headstrong writer with a daily newspaper column called Luna Talk (better translated as "Menstrual Cycle"). First her power is cut off, then she breaks her coffee cup in a local cafe and finally is denied an old record in an antique shop. The vinyl platter has special significance - she gave the special edition release to her ex-boyfriend as a gift, only to find it now in a shop rack complete with her old note written on its cover. She begs the shop owner (retro Teresa Mo) to sell it back to her but it's not for sale. Popular radio disc-jockey Cheung Yung (Aaron Kwok) has it on hold. The store owner calls Cheung and tells him about the LP's history but he refuses to let Luna buy it.

Later on, while hosting his radio show Vinyl Record Courier, Cheung tells his listeners how he refused to let the woman have the record he placed on hold, despite that very disc being a cast-off lover's gift. He adds that he hopes the lady in the shop will feel the "beauty of regret" after his denying her a personal momento to cling on to.

Luna is listening to the radio show. And far from feeling this "beauty", she's incensed by Cheung's words. She fires back at him through her column the next day and names him specifically. Cheung in turn responds on air, this time knowing who the lady in the store was. Luna replies by splashing wine on his face at a party and Cheung starts planning "long-term strategies". He gets reading up on her columns past and present and gets to know more about, and as a result get closer to, his rival...

While that's the start of the main story, there's a second, lesser plot travelling along too. The antique shop owner is somewhat lonesome, sitting alone in her curios shop squeezing her zits all day. She gets herself a dog and through it meets a like-minded man (Eric Tsang). Their companionship builds steadily as the film cuts back to them every now and then. But placed against the superstar-led main story, this thread seems sidelined, ambiguous and without conclusion.

And I Hate You So holds a lighthearted, often playful pace as it covers relationships forming, and and relationships not to be. The pace also benefits from an enjoyable premise for its main romance. Barring the Teresa Mo and Eric Tsang plot, the main story follows a steady course that's only interrupted once - a skippable internet chat show sequence which plays more as a name placement than as having any bearing on the story proper. Several aspects aren't adequately described in the plot however, in particular Luna's relationship with a character played by Mark Lui. The inclusion of the Vinyl Record Courier radio show in the story offers pleasing musical backgrounds with oldies of the Edith Piaff variety added to the soundtrack - a laidback change as nice on the ears as the film is on the eyes. The only disappointment here was the absence of local HK '60s tunes with the exception of only one gentle number (with lyrics nicely subtitled in English). I would have loved to hear a couple more such songs placed in there somewhere.

The look and sound of the film generally excels - one of the slickest looking local new releases I've seen for quite some time. A chirpy keyboard score opens the film as the camera sweeps about with fine, soft visuals and settles down comfortably. Throughout the film attractive interior set designs and pleasant urban surrounds are nicely framed and form an appealing background to set the script and characters against. Of the cast, Kelly Chen capably holds up her role as the obstinate writer storming about town. Aaron Kwok's character is written as an unlikeable person, and the actor stays true to that form. Jessica Hester Hsuan is also notable as a radio station staffer with eyes for Cheung Yung but unable to get close to him.

Credit Review To: www.kowloon.com