Movies: "Orphan"; "Up"

Summer movies, eh? No, not Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen, Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs (eww...), or Harry Potter and the Half-blood Prince (which I have yet to see). One is a little under the radar, while the other is pretty mainstream, much like its predecessors. And... they are polar opposites.

Orphan

Distributed by Warner Bros. and produced by Dark Castle Entertainment, this is your standard horror/thriller film. It tells the story about a family that loses an unborn child to stillbirth and the psychological repercussions that ensue. Eventually, they adopt a young girl. The thing is, there is more than what meets the eye for this peculiar child.

I would not be writing this if I did not like the movie. However, in all honesty, the first hour of the film dragged on to a point where I wanted to get up and leave. However, the second half of the film - yes, another hour, the movie is about two hours long - turned out to be a roller coaster ride.

Originally, I have to agree with those whose initial reactions to the movie's promotions, commercials, and trailers consisted of comparisons between Orphan and the 1976 horror film, The Omen. The latter film also centralizes its plot around exceedingly creepy children. Of course, demonic kids also show up in Rosemary's Baby (1968) and The Exorcist (1973). All I can say is, the actual orphan... well, you will have to find out what makes her different from the rest of the pack. More thrilling than scary, though there are those horror moments, the majority of the scenes only try to freak you out, and do not actually carry out the actual freaking. Personally, I like that, since the cliché horror aspects do get old.


Moving on to a not-so-scary film...


Up

Yes. Just "Up." That's the title. Distributed by the famous duo, the Walt Disney Company and Pixar Studios, this is your typical animated film of the year. It's humorous, it's touching, it's adventurous and fantastic.

It tells the story of a man named Carl, who dreamed of exploration during his childhood. Years (many, many years) pass and he's now a crusty, old man. Attempting to fulfill the dreams of his late wife, he... well... inflates several thousand balloons and proceeds to fly his house to Paradise Falls, South America. Along the way, he is joined by an oriental-looking kid named Russell, who, as a Boy Scout, needs to earn one final merit badge by assisting the elderly. Then there's a giant tropical bird they find in South America. And then there is a talking dog that also joins in shortly afterwards. This is all to Carl's dismay. The audience pretty much travels along with the odd group in their adventure, which is to the most part, an enjoyable ride.

The introduction to Carl in the opening sequences of the film happen to be one of the most saddening Disney moments that I can remember. The aforementioned "late wife" of Carl, the childhood they experienced, and the long lives they led with each other have got to be the most touching elements to this film. From there, after the "aww's" and "...'s" the film moves on with the main storyline and turns to the standard children's entertainment it is meant to be. It's a pretty good movie, matching well with the previous Disney productions.

Stepping Off the Strip...

Recently some of the members from Binghamton's fencing club wanted my advice regarding equipment. I tend to buy my own gear, choosing from many companies across the world, test them for myself, and so forth. Now that I think about it, it's been about six years since I started the sport freshman year in high school.

There were bright moments throughout the high school years. Making varsity in my second season, obtaining a respectable count of victories for the team, taking first chair, and claiming All-County are some of the highlights. And of course, there were dismal times, as well. I cannot recall how many times I was the anchor and failed to seal the victory to a meet. More than once did I lose the final bout of a meet 4-5 which resulted in a 13-14 team loss to an opposing school. Oh yes, the worst was probably losing bronze for the league when such a situation occurred.

And for all the good and bad times, I still continued the sport. I qualified for Nationals. I won my awards. I obtained my individual titles. But then, any remotely physically active person is bound to become injured at some point. When I was tackled in a random football skirmish earlier this year, at first, I figured my right shoulder was just slightly sprained and that it would heal in a few weeks or so. It's been about three months. It is still bothering me at times, a bit sore whenever I exert too much pressure on it. I'm confident that it will heal in time, but such an injury has greatly impeded my physical activities and wore down the strength of my right arm. I cannot throw a ball as far or as accurately as I used to. I cannot fence, for obvious reasons. And because of that, I skipped out on the Summer Nationals this year in Houston, Texas.

For the time being, I will be signing off fencing. At least until my shoulder is fully healed. My entire arm... it itches to hold the weapons that my hand has grown used to.

And the pictures continue...

Yeah once again, I'm just stealing some pics. This time from Katie :-)

Random Thought

"I believe everyone has prayed to God at least once.
Even though they may not believe, one day they will surely make an honest prayer.

Something that everyone is looking for.
Something that everyone is after.
Something that is created from everyone's continuous wish and the bonds between them.

The thing that's created is..."

A miracle? A dream? Hope? The thought was never completed.

I stayed up late and finished watching the anime, Ef - A Tale of Memories. Twelve episodes in five consecutive hours, not bad if I say so myself. I'll hit up season two tomorrow, hoo-hah.

Countdown to Italy

Lately there has been a lot of talk about traveling, short excursions, and road trips surrounding my friends and some family members. Now I remember... in a little less than three weeks, my family and I will take a 10-day trip in Italy, with the majority of time spent there in Florence, Venice, and of course, Rome.

I've never been to Italy. I am 100% - not - fluent in the Italian language. In fact, I've never been to Europe. The closest I can possibly be to Italy would be my knowledge of classical music and my 11th grade level Spanish vocabulary (maybe I can figure some Italian terms out with fundamental Latin root words). In conclusion, this family trip will be mainly an educational one.

Personally, I'm mostly interested in the art history and culture that has evolved through so many centuries in Italy. As a bonus, the history of the Coliseum intrigues me, as well. But the city of Venice would be my top choice. I have limited knowledge about the city, but I do know that if I want to explore the arts, Venice would be a good choice as a destination. As for the Coliseum, that would be Rome. Too bad there are no olden day sword-slashing, chain-whipping gladiators out there anymore.

I will take pictures. Granted that I don't break my camera like I did so with my previous one in Taiwan last summer.

More Oxford Pictures

I'm going to Scotland this weekend so I'll post some pictures of that as soon as I can.

@ Rehan: How to Upload Photos in Your Posts

Since Rehan (DrVirusX) has no idea how to upload photos on Blogger, this post is dedicated specifically for enlightenment.

Look at what the red arrow is pointing to. I highlighted that just for you. It reads: "Add Image."

Click it.










If you have successfully clicked the aforementioned button, now you will see this popup. Choose one of the following.

Browse from your hard drive...

Or copy and paste an image link from some webpage.






For simplicity purposes, let's say you upload from your computer, which is the best choice, in my opinion.

Here's another popup. Find your image, photo, whatever. Click it. Open it.

Look, the arrows are there to help.








And let's say everything worked out correctly. Now you will return to the last scene.

See where the arrow is pointing to? Success! Now all you have to do is click on the circled button: "Upload Image."









Voila. You see something like this after you the photo is successfully uploaded.











And the product of our hard work...











Problem solved, hopefully.

Oxford Pictures

Since I can't find the link to Add Image, I'll send you guys the facebook links. Some of them you might be able to see up there, others, probably not. They're definitely not the greatest pictures of me, oh well. These pictures are courtesy of Kristy, Chelsey, and Anita; sorry for stealing your pictures! Anyways, enjoy guys (and girl):


1. Emma
2. Kristy


1. Train station to London
2. Phone booth

(Jeff's direct comment for #2: Let's see that Superman uniform!)


1. Phone
2. Chilling with Chelsey

(Jeff's direct comment for #1: Dude, how tiny is your phone...?)


1. Chilling at the pub
2. Serious discussion

(Jeff's direct comment for #1: Jeff is jealous.)


1. Clap, clap
2. I have no idea

(Jeff's direct comment for #2: Rehan, curb that rage.)


1. Joe
2. Rob


1. Can I getta... F...
2. Chelsey and Joe


1. Yeah...
2. Hanging

(Jeff's direct comment for #1: Oh yeah, it's that time of the night.)


1. Cafe Grand
2. Myspace pose

That's about it for now, but more to come later.

(Jeff's final comments: Glad you're having fun, I hate you.)

Oxford

So it's already been a little over two weeks since I've been in England and a little over a week since I've been in Oxford. Lots of stuff going on, I'll fill you all in the details later. Let's see I visited all the major tourist attractions with my family (i.e. London Bridge, Tower Bridge, Madame Tussaud's, etc.) I'm really mad that I lost my camera case at the ride in Madame Tussaud's. It was a cool case. Anyways Oxford requires a lot of reading and writing so fuck me. I mean yeah I expected this, but I just like complaining. Went to a club for the first time this past weekend, pretty cool stuff. But now I have assignments due for all three classes that I'm taking here. Oh and I'm the only lucky one who's taking three classes, while everyone else is taking two. But no complains so far. The only class that I'm really nervous about is Art and Literature. I have to write a 10 -20 page paper on John Ruskin (look him up if you really care). I woke up today feeling like mega-shit. Like my throat feels sore and I just want to lay in bed and do absolutely nothing. But I have to work on my assignments, so I'm screwed. If you guys want, I can try to post some pictures from Oxford. Jeff, I'm not really sure how to do that, so leave a comment with directions or something. Like I have pictures of me from my camera, but I also have pictures on facebook which you guys can't see because the album that I've been tagged in is private. So I can give you the image location links. Well, I'll keep you guys updated.

Fortune Cookie

For some reason, only perverted thoughts entered my mind when I first read this...

Selected Summer Anime

In recent months, I picked up a habit of watching anime on my laptop late into the night... or on occasions, into the hours of dawn. Hey, if there is no need for me to wake up at 9 AM in the morning, why not enjoy some entertainment while I can?

Two series that I have been working on lately are still broadcasting in Japan. Usually I take a few days to watch an entire series in a couple of sittings, but after I started these two series, I had no choice but to settle for a weekly excursion.

Four other series (amongst many) I have already finished watching and have enjoyed them immensely. Yes, there are some that I watch and decide to go, "Eh," to and move on, and obviously I won't be writing about them. Equally, there are some that I watch and say, "Hmm, that was pretty damn good" - which I will write about.


1. Pandora Hearts

Last week, the first season ended with a minor cliffhanger, which obviously left me in a state of resentment. Fortunately, I only have to wait until this Friday for the start of the second season.

When I first saw the series' promotion earlier in the summer, my initial reaction was noting how similar the anime looked in comparison to Disney and Square Enix's Kingdom Hearts video game series. With a little research, it looked like Square Enix happens to sponsor this anime. And with a little taste of Disney and Kingdom Hearts as a bonus, the entirety of this anime plays with elements from the classic tale of Alice in Wonderland (the main heroine's name turned out to be Alice, as well). Characters such as the Cheshire Cat and the Mad Hatter also show up, albeit in peculiar forms. I can only imagine what other interesting aspects would be included in the future.

As with any standard linear story, there are elements of action, comedy, romance, and drama. Unfortunately, the comedic portions of the anime have become somewhat of a nuisance since the series' staff did not seem to incorporate the "funny" moments correctly. A scene could be turning out quite dramatic and hair-raising until an awkward comedy moment completely demolishes the mood. Still, I found a liking to this series and have decided to continue with the second season.

2. Hayate no Gotoku!!

Also known as, Hayate the Combat Butler!!, in English, despite the Japanese title being directly translated closer to "like the wind." Anyway, my younger brother recommended the first season, titled Hayate no Gotoku!, to me at the beginning of the summer, which I promptly went forward to watch. Well, note the two "!!'s" in this title. This is the second season, a work still in progress as the summer continues.

In comparison to the longer 52-episode first season, the planned 26-episode second season has toned down the action and parody elements that was prevalent in the first season. Instead, the second season boosted the comedy, romance, and drama aspects that was usually fleeting in the original run. I did not expect it, but as of the most recent episode, I was watching a standard dramatic, comedy-romance series, a.k.a. "dramedy."

Truthfully, this anime is rather addicting. Most of the characters are unmistakably unrealistic, but the humor levels of the series pretty much trample any potential plot-holes or tilted, confused heads the audience may have. In summary, we have Hayate, the main character, who has found himself being the love interest of three different girls in his life. He is oblivious to their feelings, of course, or else this would not be funny. One happens to be the girl that he works for as a butler, a kajillionaire that parodies any real-life antisocial, stay-at-home, video game and comic book fanatic with a knack for misunderstanding every situation. Another girl, an old friend of Hayate, happens to be a very, very, very normal, shy girl that you can probably find anywhere on the planet. And finally, there's the girl that's the typical school council president, the one with the A+ student brains and looks of a supermodel, the athleticism, the wits, and hidden femininity that befriended Hayate in the first season. Let's see how this turns out.

3. Utawarerumono

Translated to "the one being sung" in English. Starting from here, these series have ended a while back. I just decided to watch them out of boredom... and I'm pretty satisfied with the fact that I did.

By the looks of it, the series seems like a fantasy-war story, which is quite accurate from a stand-alone point of view. That's fine, since I originally thought it was just another fantasy series that dealt with war elements. Even as the episodes flew by, I still thought the same. Surprisingly, though, towards the latter half of the series, I realized that was not the case.

Of course, I don't care whoever reads this decides to go on and start watching these anime series, but I'm not in favor of spilling the beans to any major plot developments in a story (ha... ha...). Much like any good story, there's action, drama, romance - and just a hint of comedic elements for this series, though done far better than what another staff did for Pandora Hearts.

4. Code Geass: Lelouch of the Rebellion (Seasons 1 & 2)

I'm saving the best ones for last. Rarely do we see any original anime that is not based on a manga, a visual novel, or a video game. And because of this, I was able to enjoy this series that much more.

The gist of the story goes as follows: At a point in the future, Japan is invaded and conquered by a European nation of Britannia, leaving the once proud country without freedom and identity. Then we have a very intelligent student named Lelouch who steps up and leads a very straighforward, yet highly complicated rebellion against, not just Britannia, but pretty much the entire world. He becomes the forever intriguing anti-hero, someone the audience eventually grow to love and hate on balanced levels.

The first and second seasons are linked, and thank God for that. Had I started watching this series as it was being broadcasting in Japan, the ridiculous cliffhanger at the end of the final episode of the first season would have driven many people, including me, insane. Forunately, I had archived the first and second seasons on my external hard drive many months before I decided to go with this series.

This can probably qualify as a masterpiece. If you've ever watched some sort of dramatic series before, the moments right before, during, and after the series' climax (or in this case, climaxes) when your eyes open up a bit more and you say, "OHHH... whoa," then you know that satisfying feeling. I must admit, the storyline's really genius. Highly recommended.

5. RahXephon

I think someone kept telling me to watch this series a couple of years back and I told him I would eventually. I managed to put it all off until a month ago when I randomly decided I might as well start.

A tri-pronged attack of action, drama, and romance: that pretty much sums up the series. An all-or-nothing fight against the world. An unrelenting, unforgettable past love. And let's not forget everything in the middle. Character development and growth, psychological advancements and degeneration... this is deep stuff. Furthermore, mecha, mecha, mecha. Giant robots, Mayan and Egyptian culture, classical music, alternate dimensions, without missing modern popular culture, trends, and fashions; all of this tied into the aforementioned tri-pronged attack of action, drama, and romance, if I say it's not mind-blowing, then I need a mental checkup.

I should add that I managed to complete this 26-episode series within two days. It's fairly fast-paced, thus forcing poor me to keep moving episode after episode...

6. Clannad (Seasons 1 & 2)

I was dead serious when I said I'm saving the best for last. It may be a while before I can find anything else that may match the enjoyment I got out of this series.

Let's start with basics: the animation was pretty much flawless. Everything, from the movements of the characters to the background, everything was done extremely well. Renders were beautiful, the environments were astounding, and even the abstract aspects were perfected to a point where nothing seemed odd or out of place. Absolutely amazing. Kyoto Animation deserves many kudos for their efforts.

The music did not need to be intricate to stand out. In fact, the background music throughout the series was kept relatively simple. However, the selection of music was what was important. Each simple piece was concisely in line with the scenes. I cannot count how many times have I watched a heartwarming or some sort of mood-triggering scene that was blatantly ruined by poorly incorporated music. And because this series did not have such an issue, I was able to get the most out each important scene.

But by far, the greatest aspect of this anime was character development. I'm not just talking about how a character is dynamic and changes throughout the series, but quite literally, a character's mental and physical growth. I should mention that this is a series about life. The first season focused on school life, the making of friends, the bonding of family, and all the things, good and bad, that come in between. The second season, subtitled After Story, shifted its central plot structure around entering adulthood, finding work, searching for and maintaining an independent home, starting a family, and facing and conquering hardships.

This series was truly an emotional rollercoaster. At times it was ridiculously cheesy, to a point where I could seriously slap my forehead and go, "Geez..." But then there were the honest, heartfelt moments. There were times that were wildly hilarious - a side-hurting, laugh out loud comedy. Equally, especially towards the end of the second season, it was traumatizing and and downright miserable. Clannad was a monumental series, and not just as an anime, but as a piece of media in general. This was the very first time in my life that some "story" drew tears out of my eyes. And on more than one occasion, as well. Not to worry, though, the series had a supernatural, fairytale-like happy ending (minor spoiler, sorry).

A work of art with elements containing family, school, and growing up themes, in combination with comedy, drama, romance aspects within supernatural and psychological genres. With all these features lined side by side with each other, how the creators got them to work perfectly with each other is beyond me. But obviously the result was the most important part. These guys created a true masterpiece. I feel fortunate that I got a chance to experience it.

Photos From Jersey

As I mentioned before, here are some random photos from visiting my godparents in New Jersey:

Outside the oversized house.

Inside the oversized house. Apparently it's so big that there was not enough furniture to go around.

Godbrother Matthew on the left and biological brother Jeremy on the right. I think they were watching Spongebob or something...

Playing a game called Bakugan, based on a Japanese anime. All the cool 5-year olds are doing it nowadays. I've seen my little cousins going at it in Taiwan.

The kid entered his own world after Jeremy and I lent him our Nintendo DS's. I used the plural form because he requested the second one after sapping the first's batteries.

He was quite upset after both DS's ran out of batteries. But because we know I'm so good with children, I managed to entertain him for the remainder of the day. And here's his A-smile.

Dinnertime. I think being able to cook and eat simultaneously was pretty neat.

I think I should pursue a career in dining photography.

Who knew plain bok choy and mushrooms could look remotely interesting?

All this food is drool-inducing, eh?

Oh, yes. (The spare ribs off the grill were particularly delectable)

And we capped off the night with some old-school Battleship. The kid's not even six yet. He's got brains, though.