Feeling slightly bittersweet.

Yesterday, I managed to catch the last, final episode ever of Beelzebub. Entirely by accident.

You see, I'm usually able to watch the show at 10.30pm every day, but for the past few nights I've been missing the episodes, due to work and stuff.

So last night, after watching Fringe, I switched to Animax to watch what little Beelzebubis left. Usually the show finishes around the same time as Fringe(though they have different start-times), so by the time I change the channel, Beelzebub would be in its end-credits.

But not last night.

I'm super glad that my timing was impeccable, for once.

I wish the show ran for more seasons. If my mom wasn't watching the TV as well, I would've totally teared up at the final scenes.

Read More......

Just to show how psyched I amwas about The Avengers

I had this dream one week before the 26 April premiere. Struck out the 'am' because I'd planned for this post to go out in the last week of April, but as usual...

Anyway, in my dream, I was watching The Avengers on my laptop. I wasn't home, but I don't think I was at work either, as I wasn't busy looking over my shoulder and switching windows at intervals. I think I even felt slightly bad for watching this ahead of everyone, but I figured, hey, I get to watch this before everyone else.

Okay, so for some reason, the Avengers had to sneak into a hospital to interrogate the suspect, and in doing so, they disguised themselves as hospital staff. RDJ was there; so was ScarJo and Chris Evans.

The perp figured that there was something amiss and decided to make a run for it. He wasn't looking where he was going, made a wrong turn, accidentally smashed into a glass window, and falls right out. The hospital is actually in a high-rise.

[Just bear with me here.]

As the perp's falling (it's a very tall building), the Hulk suddenly swings towards the building, and body-slams the perp into one of the floors (forgive me if I'm not describing this properly), going through a ton of glass (windows, doors, etc.). Since the Hulk had shielded our perp through the broken glass, he was so cut by all that glass that he was also literally sliced in half. Partway, though; top down right to his purple pants.

And the best part? He wasn't dead yet. With his half-spliced body, he spun around a number of times (in total cartoon-y fashion), and regenerated.

At that point I actually dreamtthought to myself that I'm soooo gonna Wiki the Incredible Hulk after the movie.

And it's only now that the opening titles roll, in fairly cheesy B-grade effects. The camera pans over onto the top of the 'Marvel' logo, with a voice-over from Sam Jackson, saying something about 'avenging' (very similar to what RDJ says right before the "I have an army/We have a Hulk" exchange).

The camera then zooms out for the rest of the titlecard, and what do we get?

Cyrillic. Turns out I got myself the Russian bootleg.

*shudder*

Most noticeably absent from my dream was Loki, which surprised me to no end since he (well, Hiddles) was the person I'm most looking forward to seeing in The Avengers.

Read More......

A Memory of Light has been pushed back!

Again!

And I was so looking forward to October 2012 :(

Previously, the initial date was set at October 2011; now it's been pushed as far back as January 2013.

I'm guessing it's probably due to current writer Brandon Sanderson and Robert Jordan's people trying to make the book perfect-er. It is the big kahuna of the series, the one book that fans have been waiting for 22 years.

[Yes, the first book was released in 1990. How time flies.]

Tor's website even released first parts (as in, PoVs) of both the prologue and Chapter 1. They're short bits, nothing much to shout about.

Prologue's about Jarid Sarand, whom I've completely forgotten about. Sarand is one of the rebels against the Elayne's throne Succession, which was so painfully (and rather needlessly) drawn out and boring that when re-reading the later books, I skim through chapters involving her. If there was ever a definition for 'filler', the Succession arc would be it.

[Spanning two to three encyclopedia-sized tomes /fml]

The Chapter 1 portion is disappointingly short, about Rand meeting up with Perrin again and catching up.

The publisher's site says that in the coming months more of the prologue and Chapter 1 will be released (same as previous releases), so hopefully there'd be something substantial to tide us over till 2013.

Sigh. That Mayan prophecy better not come true till after I've read that book!

Read More......

Only August, and I've had twice as many posts as last year!

Well, close to 'twice', if you don't count short posts like this one.

Yay, me!! GREAT SUCCESS!! *thumbs up*

Read More......

Insidious (2011)

*spoiler-laden*

Insidious relies on classic, old-fashioned type of scares: bumps-in-the-night, greatly-suspicious-room-corners, corner-of-your-eye sightings, etc. What horror movie wouldn't be complete with cupboards bursting open and creepy children running out?

[Also, the over-hyphenation of my first paragraph.]

I've basically described the first half of Insidious in that paragraph.

Which is a shame, because during the first hour or so, the movie was truly scary. Our definition of a horror movie nowadays is limited to torture and/or death porn, and it's awfully refreshing to watch a non-handheld camera / -"true story" movie with all the low-budget trappings. This from James Wan and Leigh Whannell, the guys that re-introduced torture porn to the world with the first Saw movie (which then led to the overbloated Saw franchise).

[I gave up after # 4.]

It even builds up as a psychological thriller at first, as you're given to wonder whether these things are actually happening, or whether the wife (played by Rose Byrne) is actually losing her mind and hallucinating a red-eyed black demon due to her son's comatose state.

Mid-way, there's a very, very good scene with mother-in-law Barbara Hershey (I'm using all real names here), where she relates to Byrne and Patrick Wilson (who plays the husband) about a dream she had about their son. The story is shown in scenes flashing between her retelling and the dream itself, so that we could see what she saw. With the lack of lighting (only a small bedside lamp) and the comatose boy, you don't even notice the demon in the corner until it (slowly) raises a shadowy arm and points at the boy.

Immediately after Hershey ends her story and looks at Wilson, the demon popped up from right behind him to give us all a jolly bejesus-ridding. I still get goosebumps from that scene.

After that, it got slightly disappointing. My gripe with the movie lies in the second act, where explanations happen.

Astral projection. Really?

I mean, within the context of the movie it does fit well with the sudden occurrences: the boy's spirit had wandered too far from his body, which is why malevolent spirits are looking to inhabit his currently-empty physical self. Possession takes time and energy; which is why the spirits haven't actually gotten down to the actual relocating yet, and are merely having some fun with Rose Byrne. But then you toss in Wilson's backstory (he had a similar episode to his son's when he was young, but blocked it out from memory), and then astral-projects himself in order to lead his son's soul back into his body...

From hints and hauntings to actual confrontations with the spirits (plus some freaky-deaky encounters in the spirit world which, though interesting, were not fully explained), you have quite a departure from the tone set earlier in the movie.

Mind you, even with the unexpected turn in storyline, the second half is not without scares: the turn-table scene where Leigh Whannell (yes, he's in this also) writes what psychic Lin Shaye relays to him is terrifying enough, and the subsequent scene where the spirits in question upend everything including our young boy's body (with glimpses of those spirits in trusty Polaroid photos). And the ending, of course.

Because a Wan-Whannell movie would not be complete without the obligatory twist in the end. But the set-up for it doesn't make sense. When you are getting your son's soul out, you do not stop halfway and yell at the ghost that used to haunt you. You get back into your body first, then you start yelling.

In case you're not spoiled yet... good.

One thing's for sure, you'll never look at ceiling corners the same way ever again.

Read More......

Double Feature: The Expendables (2010) and The Expendables 2 (2012)

The Expendables was a review I never got around to writing.

Sure, I enjoyed it, but the more I postponed my completion of the review, the more the movie became a bit 'meh' for me, and I really couldn't pull all my points together for a proper review.

Testosterone? Check. Action? Adequate enough. Looking back, my gripe about the movie was the slight emphasis on Jason Statham's character. Nothing against Statham, but leave a bit more screen-time for the others, eh?

This didn't mean that the movie wasn't fun, but I would say that most of the fun came from the cast line-up. Up until then, I didn't even know how much I'd missed Dolph Lundgren, and thus, got a massive huge kick out of watching him and Jet Li duke it out on-screen.

I was quite glad to see him not die at the end.

[Review for numero dos starts now.]

The idea behind The Expendables is awesome in the sense that it can be considered as the mother of all action movies. Just as how The Avengers is the mother of all superhero movies (at least, until that Justice League movie materialises), The Expendables collects action stars old and (semi-) young, and weaves them a shared storyline for our viewing pleasure.

And that list is not exhausted yet.

It’s the nostalgia factor that gets to me. How often do you see Lundgren these days? Or, though he has a reason, Arnold Schwarzenegger? Jean-Claude Van Damme even? Or Chuck flippin’ Norris?

Like taking a trip down memory lane.

And no worries to be had here about egos. Half of the stars in the movie haven't really been in anything big in a long while.

Did I say I totally miss Dolph Lundgren?

The first movie didn't exactly explore its homage potential, apart from a few jabs at Schwarzenegger's stint as Governator of California. As Arnie's role (and others) have been expanded in this sequel, I'm very pleased to announced that there are homages and pop culture references a-plenty (especially for the more established action stars), and with that, it's basically a chance for all the old-timers to poke fun at themselves and each other.

And it works. Granted, the cheese and cliched-dialogue factor is ultimately at an all-time high, but
It so does. One of the best scenes in this movie involves Chuck Norris. Let’s just say that he’s capable of being an Expendable (note the singular) all by himself.

This time around, Lundgren (yay!!), Terry Crews and Randy Couture, who round out the rest of the Expendables, are given more time to shine. Some of the funniest scenes in the movie involve the three.

On that note... poor Liam Hemsworth.

Action-wise, the second movie delivers far, far more than the first. From the first very-loaded-and-action-packed 15 minutes (only then we get the title card), till the final scenes where everyone in the movie poster (except for two) packs guns and knives and puts them to appropriate use, there's a ton of action to go around. I seem to notice more blood and more guts in this one, though it's been a long while since I last saw the first one. I mean, there was violence, but it's not as gratuitous as this one. Even punching begot copious amounts of blood-letting.

Jet Li fans, you may be disappointed with this outing; he’s only in this movie for 15 minutes (guess which 15), after which he takes a parachute out. Even Lundgren glares at him for that.

[Surprisingly, Li still gets third billing, right after Statham.]

It’s definitely much better than the first movie (though I think it’s well-established by now that seconds are mostly always better than firsts). Even with the inclusion of a girl proper this time around, it didn’t detract much my enjoyment of this movie.

I think I’m an awful feminist. I prefer to have my movies 100% testosterone-fuelled, rather than have a token "strong, sexy, sassy, one-of-the-boys" female member of the team. I find it redundant and unnecessary to have eye-candy for the boys when guns, grenades and booze should cut it. Luckily, this movie doesn't create any love interest notions, although for a moment I thought we might actually go down that road.

Thank goodness.

JCVD is adequately slimey as the bad guy (ha ha) Vilain (pronounced vee-layn), but the final fight between the Italian Stallion and JCVD wasn’t that all hyped to be. Maybe it’s due to different fighting styles (JCVD is more martial arts than Stallone) or due to age, but there wasn’t as much fighting as I would’ve liked.

[Fun fact: Stallone initially offered Gunnar (currently played by Lundgren) to JCVD, but JCVD declined. Totes in his face yo.]

Suggestion for The Expendables 3: Bring in Ray Park, please! Then he can have a showdown with Jet Li (hopefully). Someone should also bring in Steven Seagal. I’m sure Stallone can fit him in somewhere. Apparently, the third movie is in the process of signing Nicolas Cage (NOT THE BEES!!!), and they’re looking to get Clint Eastwood, Harrison Ford and BladeWesley Snipes.

I can hardly wait.

Read More......

Girls are (privately) very dirty creatures.

Location in point: my office toilet.

You'd think that, with so many girls in the office, all of us educated professionals, someone would at least know how to flush the toilet.

Or at least, look behind to check whether there are any... leftovers.

Every year (or when the company gets the chance), we are reminded to keep the bathrooms clean, to not gross people out be considerate of others, etc., but... eh. Our cubicle doors even have paper reminders taped on their insides. Some of them are at squat level; for purposeful (though I doubt its intended effectiveness) reading while tinkling.

Speaking of 'tinkling', this reminds me of a phrase:

If you sprinkle when you tinkle, 

be a sweetie and wipe the seatie.

The rhyming helps make it adorable :)

Just today, I saw a massive turd the size of a meatball (of the spaghetti kind, not the fishball-beefball variety) in the front part of the squat bowl in one of the cubicles, and a few hours later, another toilet (bowl, this time) wasn't flushed properly and there was... residue.

...wait, I can't call it 'residue', that means 'little'. By any indication, the water was already murkied up, so 'residue' is not the appropriate word to use.

Right now, the right word does not come to mind. But it'll come.

[It always does. *snide laughter*]

Seriously, all the time taken by the girls in my office to look pretty (and they do doll themselves up!), and they can't even spare a bloody second to look back at what they literally crapped out.

It doesn't even take a MINUTE to be this considerate.

I tend not to hear any complaints about the men's bathroom (or maybe my ear-dar isn't as good as I think it is), but the way I see it, guys only just have to worry about your average browns and yellows.

We girls, on the other hand, have also to keep an eye out for the reds.

Every other week I see red (ha ha), be it diluted or be haemoglobin-rich. Every other week I wonder how is it that these girls can't even notice red-on-porcelain white, which is FAR easier to notice compared to yellow/brown variations-on-porcelain.

One time, I saw a big drop (about an inch in diameter) by the cubicle door. Never mind whether the lighting made the brown look red or whether my eyes need to be checked. The viscosity was too thick to be water and the flippin' cubicle door is at least two feet away from the squat bowl.

How on bloody (literally) earth did that drop get all the way over there?!! I mean, you would have to do some serious gymnastics to get your, ahem, vajayjay all the way there.

It's unfathomable.

The only way I can imagine that getting there is: if the person, having realised there was no more toilet paper in that cubicle, ran out, grabbed the paper towels by the sink, and ran back into the cubicle again without having made herself presentable before exiting said cubicle.

I don't think I need to elaborate my definition of the word 'presentable'.

I shudder for both her sake, and that of the if-unfortunate-enough fellow female who happened to tag into the bathroom common at the moment our culprit had her pants around her legs.

[I rule out skirts. Drippings would more likely to get onto the skirt, rather than the floor.]

This post brought to you by eternal optimism. Oh, wit (or at least, some semblance of wit), how have I missed you!

Read More......

Bliss, still!

It's been a little over a week since my last post, and I'm at an all-time high.

I'm still lazy to go to the gym, but I'm guessing the immobility bit is inborn.

For once, I'm feeling optimistic and, dare I say it, perky about life in general. I just noticed that I no longer (for the moment) glare at people for being happy.

I don't exactly have anything to be over-joyful about, so I'm still in the dark over the source of my new-found happiness.

Anyway, I'd just like to share this adorable video about pudding, taken from Beelzebub. It's an anime about a demon baby and his high-school-delinquent caretaker, and they go on to have misadventures and fight demons. I'm just crazy about this show right now. It's ridiculously funny, with plenty of fourth wall-breaking (which is my kind of humor), and I've discovered four amazing songs from its opening and end credits.

[Will post on those in my next one.]

Watch and hope you enjoy!



Hambagu! :D

Read More......

Oh, bliss!

How infrequent this feeling doth come!

I'm strangely happy, for some reason. It's an extremely rare occurrence, so once-in-a-blue-moon that it's very noticeable.

And at this point, it's all the more surprising, because I'm really mired in some deep crap and I'm not out of the woods yet, but I'm experiencing an emotion that remotely feels like 'positive'.

I think I've been in a depressive funk for a very long while. I'm not exactly sure whether it actually is depression, but I'd looked up the symptoms once, and I've got most of them, except for the fact that I'm not sad and I don't feel like killing or hurting myself.

I guess depression would explain the writer's block. A term I happened across was "brain fog", which would describe a typical work day for me.

Today, on the other hand... clarity. For the first time in a very long while.

So, on a slightly higher note, Imma go enjoy this while it lasts. Happy weekend, everyone!

EDIT: I have highly irregular time-of-the-months. Turns out it's now. At least I know I've a few days left.

Read More......