Year in Review

Whew, made it through another year!

2018 was a big year for me personally. I graduated from law school, passed the bar exam and moved to New York City to start a new job. I also did a lot of travelling, which I hope to write about at some point. But for now, here is a look-back at the TV and movies that I watched!

TVB Series

The list of TVB series that I have watched this year is a short one:

• Threesome - A gem that TVB did not know how to appreciate. Mandy Wong is the true Best Actress in my mind for playing three vastly different characters and switch effortlessly between them.

• Flying Tiger - A run-of-the-mill police procedural with familiar elements - undercover agents, black cops, a brotherly showdown and a hot-headed Ron Ng.

• Deep in the Realm of Conscience - A messy, overpopulated series that tried to use extravagance to compensate for its lack of substance.

• Succession War - The better historical drama of the summer. The story was well-written, coherent and enticing, even if history books were thrown out the window.

• Life on the Line - A mundane series with too many convenient coincidences and miracles. I watched the majority of this, but never bothered to finish the last week of episodes.

• The Learning Curve of a Warlord - Without Dicky Cheung, this series would have easily been left in the skip column.

American TV

In the absence of good TVB dramas, I have turned to American TV. The first show I watched was Timeless. It is a history lover's dream show. It is well-researched and seamlessly incorporates historical details into the story. And it covered all sorts of historical events and characters. I loved tuning it each week to find out which historical time period the Time Time would travel to next. The second show I watched was Billions, a fast-paced, clever battle of the wits with unpredictable turns. The best thing about it is watching how far the characters are willing to go to win this fight.

Movies

I got to see a lot of movies this year because of Moviepass. Sadly, good things don't last forever.

• Jumanji
• The Shape of Water
• The Post
• I, Tonya
• All the Money in the World
• Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri
• Black Panther
• Annihilation
• Kingsman: Golden Circle
• Marshall
• Avengers: Infinity War
• Guardians of the Galaxy I and II
• Game Night
• Chappaquiddick
• RBG
• Mission Impossible: Fallout
• Antman and the Wasp
• Agent Mr. Chan
• Searching

Books

Now that I don't have to read for school anymore, I am rediscovering the joys of reading for leisure. The first book that I finished in a long time is The Heart's Invisible Furies by John Boyne. It was an unexpected emotional experience as I followed the life of an adopted Irish boy who struggles to understand his identity. The book was captivating, eye-opening, at times shocking, and deeply emotional. Highly recommend!


What reflections do you have on 2018? What do you hope for in 2019?