Showing posts with label Johnston. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Johnston. Show all posts

Avengers 2: Age of Ultron

Wednesday, May 13, 2015
Secret War Journal[12 May 2015][Spoiler Alert]
I seldom watch a movie twice in the cinema. I would think that I would watch the movie a second time in the cinema because it was really awesome. Nay, we all know that that is unlikely. You can always wait for the DVD to starting selling to rewatch. There shouldn't be any rush right? I will get back to you on this when I find myself in this situation.

Rather, I found myself watching Avengers twice, not because it was nice but because Avengers is too popular. Hahas. The first was for Mother's Day, the second was an outing that was planned quite some time ago. Since it was planned some time ago for Avengers, it is not very appropriate to change the movie that we planned to watch, isn't it? (Obligations)

Review
I am sure that by now, you have had heard or read many reviews about Age of Ultron.

I must admit that this sequel failed to meet expectations. However, whatever its faults, it was still a decent movie. It is not a movie that deserves to be watched twice but it is definitely worth the movie ticket to watch it for entertainment.

My biggest gripe with the movie was actually the plot. (ye, I know many people complained about the huge cast but hey, this is the Avengers. That is to be expected.) Never mind the fact that they changed a big portion of the original story on the creator of Ultron and Vision but the amount of loop holes in its place. Okay, there are many loop holes in the comics too but I am comparing with past films. There was not much explained why Vision just decided to join the Avengers. The Avengers did not even so much as try to convince him to join them. It felt very convenient at that point of time for the Avengers to gain a much needed ally against Ultron.

And really, Ultron was shown to be kinda smart in the beginning. It does not seem to make sense that he did not have a plan B in mind if he should fail in its ploy. It could be something simple like placing another instance of him in some remote town or something. That way, even if all the robots were destroyed in that city, he will survive to execute his plans again. Again, very convenient.

Finally, why did Ultron not just use Loki's Scepter on the twins to prevent them from double-crossing him? Now, who's the naive one? :o

All these sounds like a good idea for how it should had ended, huh? Hahas!

Nevertheless, if you are not that concerned about the plot and just want to enjoy the action scenes, this is a fabulous movie for it!

Aside from the movie, we did not really do much that day (for the second outing). I really should remember that Mind Cafe's happy hours end at 6pm. *scratches head* 

Night at the Museum 3

Wednesday, December 31, 2014
Secret War Journal[31 December 2014]
Happy New Year's eve, people! I finally have some time to catch a movie with Emelia and Johnston. Originally, the plan was to get Emelia's (late) christmas present. We still bought it but we caught a movie first.

To be frank, I did not realise today was New Year's Eve until I realised I could not use any vouchers I had obtained because they were mostly not valid on the eve of a public holidays. -,-

Yeah, I am slow that way. I just took whatever free day we all had. You cannot blame me, right?

Back to the point, after a quick lunch at Ajisens, we went for the movie. Did you know SAFRA discounts for Shaw is not valid on the eve of public holidays? I did not. Dang, so many privileges missing on this kind of days. We must had chosen the wrong day, oops.

The show generally was not that bad. Not groundbreaking but decent. I would say you should spend your money on movie tickets on some other show though. Why? Well, it is my view that one should spend your precious coins on a great movie. Unfortunately, Night at the Museum is not such a movie. It is great for watching at the comforts of your home though.

Whether it is suitable for families to watch, however, I am undecided on this. Much humour is lost on the younger children though I would think the CG would impress them. Ultimately, it is your call whether this show is suitable for your family to watch.

“To be free is not merely to cast off one's chains, but to live in a way that respects and enhances the freedom of others.” - Nelson Mandela

The Hobbit: The Battle of Five Armies

Tuesday, December 23, 2014
Secret War Journal[19 December 2014][Spoiler Alert]
#OneLastTime
The final chapter of the Hobbit Trilogy has finally hit the cinemas! Along with me are Darian, Johnston, Meldon, Qi Xiang, Jie Sheng, Kai Yeat, Joel, Jodie, Jasper.

The movie started right where the previous film stopped at (think Harry Potter) where the dragon flew towards Lake-Town. Personally, I felt that this first scene, while could be a fitting epic start for this movie, would be more of an fitting conclusion for the previous film (I guess the temptation to have a cliffhanger was just too strong, huh.)

The soundtrack for the exchange between Lake-Town and Smaug was a bit lacklustre. It played a sad tune for the sacking of Lake-Town which was appropriate but at the cost of making the fight very dull. The slaying of Smaug felt without consequence even though it did.

The fight scenes throughout the movie felt repetitive after the third fight when you can predict with high accuracy what is going to happen next. Still, it was entertaining to watch.

In the Battle of Five Armies, you could see that each army is only here for their own selfish reasons and that the opinion of a wizard is not very greatly valued. Fortunately, the immediate threat of the orcs quickly convinced them that it is a threat that needs to be dealt with first.

Finally, the values that the characters embody were meaningful. The resolution of the Dwarven King was while rushed, significant. It touched on the temptations of Greed and how it could cloud one's reasoning.

Random: Notice that they did not really show how the remaining armies resolve the problem of splitting the treasure or did I miss it?


That's my dinner! 21 inches baby!

"I'm not concerned with your liking or disliking me... All I ask is that you respect me as a human being." - Jackie Robinson

AFA SG 2013

Sunday, November 10, 2013
Secret War Journal[10 November 2013][Long Post][Photo-Heavy]
A little background to get our readers to be on the same page as us. AFA is short for Anime Festival (ASIA). AFA is a series of conventions mainly held in Singapore designed to promote the Japanese culture. What sets it apart from other anime conventions is the scale of operations and the crowd it attracts. AFA is without a doubt, the anime convention that boast the highest number of people attending the convention. Personally, I feel that if you are ever invited to such activities, you should definitely go for the annual AFA.

Before AFA 2013, I think I had only attended AFA once (See my post here). This year, armed with a steady income, I was invited to attend AFA. This year, armed with a steady income, I was invited to attend AFA. Seizing upon the opportunity, I accepted the invitation. However, it should be noted that I did hesitate for a moment if I should purchase the tickets for the concert.

Jie Sheng was the first person to ask if I was interested in the early bird package. The early bird package consists of entrance pass for the full duration of the convention, stage pass and VIP seats for the I <3 Anisong concert. The early bird package is considered to be a good deal if you are planning to attend the convention for the full 3 days. As an added bonus, the package would include props that you might use during the concert, such as light sticks. The reason why I did not agree to get the package right away is due to the fact that I could not confirm if I was available on the 8th of November as it was a Friday. As I am now in the army, my schedule is not completely in my control. Thus, while I was sure I should be able to attend for the 9th November since it is a Saturday, I could not fully commit to the event. As a result, Jie Sheng bought the early bird package alone. (I feel bad but it could not be helped.)

The next group who asked was Johnston, Meldon, and Qi Xiang. They heard about the early bird package from me. With similar commitments, apart from Johnston, we all missed the early bird package. For Johnston, he had trouble attending the event as his examinations would be near the corners. Despite all this, we each tried several means and compromises to attend the event. For my side, I was constantly looking out for opportunities to apply for the period of the convention. Qi Xiang and Meldon each managed to make themselves available on the days to attend for the convention. Johnston, on the other hand, studied extra hard in advance to squeeze out a day to go for the event. As luck would have it, I was able to attend for the whole duration of the event.

If the above paragraph was any indication, we decided to only attend the convention for only one day, on the 9th. Instead of getting the early bird package, we are only buying the entrance and stage pass for a day. In addition, we are purchasing a Cat 3 ticket for the concert on that day. The rationale for compromising as such was because we felt that was not much of a point buying a 3-day entrance pass as the exhibition would largely be the same through the period.

Suntec Convention Centre
The venue of the convention this year was at Suntec Convention Centre. The convention centre had been under renovation for some time. In fact, this year was the first time I went to the newly renovated place. I remembered feeling kinda lost, entering the place despite managing to reach the destination with the aid of signboards.

Accompanying us are my Junior College classmates, Timothy and Leon. They did not buy the concert tickets but they wanted to see what was the convention like. Despite buying the early bird package, Jie Sheng did not join us for the morning as he was exhausted from the concert the night before. Furthermore, he had already visited the exhibitions. Thus, he would only join us in the afternoon to prepare for tonight's concert.

In a twist of event, we realised that we only purchased the concert tickets online but did not buy the entrance pass tickets. Thinking back, since it was already day 2, maybe there was not much point in buying the entrance and stage pass. Now, why did I say that?

Booths, booths, booths?!

View from the first floor. 
Need tickets to enter the exhibitors on the second floor. :)
The sight of queuing up for the entrance pass was truly a sight to behold. It has been some time since I saw such a long queue which twists and turns so numerous times, enough to fill a floor. While the scene was intimidating, the queue moves surprisingly fast. Within minutes, we are in the convention hall.





From Left: Johnston, Qi Xiang, Timothy, Leon
The queue is moving very fast! It is already clearing up!
Bandai Booth. You would find Gundam models here.
Shingeki no Kyojin fans would know what is this. Hahas.
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Gundam Models

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Pass the large Gundam models on display, you would be presented with a showcase of figurines from various animes.

Angel Beats!


Hatsune Miku & Vocaloids




Madoka




Accel World Universe


Fate Universe


Stein's Gate Universe



To aru Index


Code Geas



Others
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Past the figurines galore, there are also posters on display, some are for sale. Do note some are fan-made. 

Notice that those posters on display on the wall are meant to be free gifts for buying from the booths.
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One thing that was worth mentioning would be the long queues at certain booths, notably those selling anime merchandise. At those booths, it is not uncommon to see a queue snaking around the booth. To combat the crowd, these booths are designed such that they have only one entrance and one exit. In this way, the shopkeepers are able to control the number of people entering their booths. By controlling the inflow of the customers, it helps to prevent the customers who are inside the booth from feeling being squeezed by the crowd. This helps to improve the shopping experience of the customers.

Entering the booths, we quickly realised that most of the goods in demand were already sold out. Apparently, it is common for the merchandise to be out of stock within hours of opening on the first day of the convention. Bear in mind that we attended the convention on the second day. Yet, the queue is still considerably long, as the shoppers want to grab whatever is left. Not wanting to hinder them, we simply browsed through and continued exploring the rest of the exhibition hall.

Stage Performances

The second aspect of the convention would be the performances at the main stage. These performances are showcased at a stipulated timing and require a stage pass to enter. After visiting some of the main stage events, I would say that unless you understand spoken Japanese, I would not recommend you to buy the stage pass. Yes, there is a translator on-site who will help to translate what was spoken to English. However, in doing so, it disrupts the flow of the dialogue and much of the essence of the discussion is lost in the process. While there are song performances, interviews are more common at the main stage. Thus, if you are coming to listen to songs or band performances, you should save the money and buy yourself a concert ticket instead. (It is more worth it, trust me.)

Below is a song performed by Azusa TADOKORO, enjoy. :)

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Mini Stage
These performances are not performed at the main stage. Rather, they can be found at the booths. They have a timetable too though you would have to go to their booths to find out.


This was the theme song of the AFA this year, Origami. The singer is Valerie who is a Singaporean. She was scouted in 2010 at the AFA's maid cafe. She was a member of the now-defunct anisong idol group, Sea*A. After the disbanding of Sea*A, Valerie continues as a solo act, as part of the Asian Pop Collective, based in Singapore. Currently, she is a regular emcee for AFA's official youtube channel, "WOW JAPAN".

Cosplay Fest

Of course, we should not forget another attraction of the convention - Cosplays! Not an advertised feature in the convention itself, in that the organisers do not hire cosplayers. (I hope? They do invite famous cosplayers to grace the event though.) Somehow, everyone just took the opportunity to cosplay for the convention and it has been the tradition since. The good thing about is that you do not need to own an entrance pass to have access to the cosplayers. (Save the renowned guest cosplayers, of course.) Most of the cosplayers can be found along the hallways, outside the exhibition halls.

 

I <3 Anisong

Night soon befall upon us. As this was the first time we were attending the concert, we were caught off guard by how early the others went to gather at the main stage entrance. We were alerted by Jie Sheng who asked if we were at the gathering area. Alarmed, we rushed for dinner and bolted for the concert hall entrance. Fortunately, it all went well as we managed to secure the front rows for Cat 3.

So many people, so early.
While I was worried that being at the furthest position, (being Cat 3) would affect the concert experience, my fears were quickly dispelled when the concert started. Though I was unable to look at the singers up close (privilege of Cat 1), the screens did help to give us a clear yet close view of the stage. One benefit of being at the front row of Cat 3 was that we can look over the crows and be able to view the stage. I am not sure how is it like at other areas where everyone is standing up too, obscuring your with human heads at every side.

Singers for Saturday Concert:
  1. Eir Aoi
  2. LiSA
  3. Milky Holmes (Suzuko Mimori, Sora Tokui, Mikoi Sasaki and Izumi Kitta,)
  4. May'n
The singers were all great but if I had to choose. I would say I enjoyed LiSA's performances the most. Her segment was the most engaging and interactive. She came up with a simple dance gesture for us to follow along as she sings. I found that very interesting and I had a lot of fun during her segment.

Being in a Japanese concert for the first time, I really could feel the energy from their fans from Cat 1 and 2. All their cheers and waving of the light sticks to the rhythm was really energising. So this is what a concert feels like, hahas.

After the concert, we were exhausted but we really enjoyed ourselves. In fact, we are tempted to attend next year's concert. :P 

    tl;dr: AFA 13, booths were average, concert is to die for.