Last Madame

Poor script, poor music background, unreal scenes (eg stabbed in the heart and cut in the face but able to tell the whole story before she dies). Wooden acting indeed.

This is quite well made but the biggest problem is weaving the two time period stories together. The modern tale is a sweet predictable Hallmark romance, the 1940s story is gory and full of sexual violence. You'll need a very broad taste to accept both ends of the spectrum - although the time cuts work for the pacing.

This is mostly interior shots - a tragic irony given the show is about preserving an historic building. I'm guessing there's not of a lot of WWII Singapore left to shoot sweeping period outdoor scenes that would have helped with the epic reach.

The leads are stand out actors - very easy on the eye, doing the best they can with compromised script choices.

I'd like to note Jeff Chou (Inspector Mak), great, reserved and VERY sexy performance. With a screen version of Fonda Lee's award winning novel "Jade City" in the pipeline, the folk casting for that coming series would have to have rocks in their heads if they didn't consider him for the role of Kaul Lanshinwan!

Overall I think for Singaporeans to speak English and not singlish seems to be unnatural for many. Similar to little nyonya last time but the little nyonya had more realistic expressions and I guess it was in chinese..that perhaps was their mother tongue.

Every time I was expecting the climax of Fung Lan's story, I felt I was constantly interrupted by Chi Ling's story. The idea of how Fung Lan's bravery transformed Chi Ling is actually brilliant, but I feel like the techniques can be different for the story to be more enjoyable.

It's like trying to sleep peacefully but yet the alarm keeps snoozing every 5 minutes...

The message about women going against the grain and not bowing down to life or men is what deeply touched my heart about this show. Costumes/makeup, lighting, and sound production is great. Although some characters are stiff in their acting and speech, actress/actors like Joanne Peh (as Fung Lan), Constance Lau, and Lina Ng really kept the overall acting up to standard.

This needs to be updated: there are 12 episodes. And it's a beautiful story.