Pitch Perfect 2

Secret War Journal[14 May 2015][Spoiler Alert]
There are really a lot of movies to catch this season. Continuing down my invisible movie bucket list, we are going to catch the much anticipated Pitch Perfect 2.

To be frank, before last week, this movie was not on my list. (I am sorry to all the fans out there. It was not intentional.) I was informed of its greatness when my cousin went for its sneak preview. She gave good reviews on it. Naturally, I am all psyched to watch it. :P

Ever since then, I had been finding opportunities to watch it. Indeed, one day, the opportunity came. During a lunch catch up session with Cynthia, Jie Sheng and Wei Ting, we decided to head over to Seletar Mall for a movie. Jie Sheng, who also wanted to watch Pitch Perfect 2 too, was agreeable to the idea of watching it.

Bear with me here, I did not watch Pitch Perfect 1. (I was told I did not need to really watch the first one. I was not misled. :) As a result, I cannot say I can fully grasp the meaning behind every scenes. What I do know is that, this is definitely not a movie suitable for children. At least I would not recommend to children. There are many mature (, sexist, and racist) jokes which I felt would not be appropriate for them to watch.

(I went to check again, it is rated PG-13 for sexual reference. Wow)

That aside, the performances were really good. I mean really good. No wonder people were recommending this. As strange as it may sound, I actually felt that Das Sound Machine performed better than the Bellas. I mean, yes, I see the value of having an 'original' song among the mashup but I think most people would frown about that in A cappella (or am I wrong?). The performance by Das Sound Machine was really more solid, professional and impressive. They really felt professional while the Bellas looked like they were just performing for a CCA (which they both literally are, I guess that was meant to be the joke). Hence, I was really confused how the Bellas managed to win Das Sound Machine in the finals. *Scratches head*

But that is just me thinking too much. :P

Avengers 2: Age of Ultron

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!

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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* 

Kingsmen: The Secret Service

Secret War Journal[21 February 2015]


Important: The movie is rated M18 in Singapore for violence

It is day 3 of Chinese New Year! We have met up for some movie outing! Joining me are Bao Lin, Cynthia, Jie Sheng and Wei Ting.

Before you watch the movie, there is a few thing you will need to know to manage your expectations. I had realised that this is a film that some people will appreciate and people who will not. From me, it seems the factor would be the expectations on this movie.

Firstly, note the genre is action, adventure and comedy. Thus, for people expecting a serious movie like James Bond, this is not the movie to watch. Instead, think Cody Banks (but better?).

Secondly, note the violence. At times, it is borderline gore but you can tell they tone down on the gore (at the expense of making it unrealistic in situations). It feels intentional so I would not fault them for that.

Finally, back to my first point, this is a movie to enjoy on. It is a comedy film so try to relax and do not think too much!

Overall, I felt this is one of the better shows that is currently airing in the cinema. If you really have to watch a movie this week, this is your best option until a blockbuster appears. Enjoy!

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Random, but after so long, I have pepperlunch. Hahas!

Night at the Museum 3

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.

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“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

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?

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That's my dinner! 21 inches baby!

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

Big Hero 6

Secret War Journal[5 December 2014]
Big Hero 6 is the latest Disney Movie. I managed to catch the movie during a catch-up session with Meldon and Qi Xiang.

Synopsis

The special bond that develops between plus-sized inflatable robot Baymax, and prodigy Hiro Hamada, who team up with a group of friends to form a band of high-tech heroes.

Trailer

Personal Opinion
It was a pretty standard movie in my opinion. The plot was simple and the ending was predictable. However, one of the greatest flaw of this film was the lack of character development. Based on character development, it is questionable who exactly is the main character - Hiro? Baymax? That aside, there was little love for the side characters, probably due to the limitations of time and budget (seriously, 90+ minutes? Dang) One plot twist got me, the identity of the villain. It would be difficult to guess correctly the villain given the lack of foreshadowing for that character. (Only one! The rest of the suspects had so many 'clues' pointing to them being villain. I feel cheated.) Overall, the decisions made by Hiro generally lacked impact that it otherwise should had. The movie could be better but it is not bad in bringing laughter to the audience.

Verdict: 7/10 (Well, it did bring a good laugh to me for a good part of the movie) *shrugs*

X Men: Days of Future Past

Secret War Journal[25 May 2014]
People who knew me would know that I had no intention to watch this movie at all. Partly because I had no interest in the story. No offense to the fans, I did watch the X-men films up until Origins (at least I think I did) but I just liked how the story ended at X-Men 3 (it was a sad ending, I know). I did not really want them to dig up the story again and smash what I thought I knew about the story and kept it moving again.

Premise
That said, I ended up watching the movie in the cinemas. As ironic as it may sound, I was presented with the opportunity to watch the movie. As luck would have it, NUS Business was giving away X-Men tickets for participants of their tea session. As not everyone who attended for the tea session was interested in watching the movie, Emelia managed to obtain additional tickets for her family and me.

To be honest, I was not aware about this development when they procured the tickets for me. At first, they asked me if I was free to join them for a movie. At that moment, I was celebrating Jing Ying's birthday with Lai Yin and Gable gang. Since I was not aware when the celebration would end, I decided to play safe and replied that I would not be able to make it. For some reasons, they did not catch my reply (I think Johnston's phone went out of battery) and sent me another message stating that they got me a ticket. Naturally, I assumed that they bought a ticket for me already. Hence, I excused myself and quickly headed for Vivocity to catch the movie.

Personal Opinion
The movie saw the return of popular characters such as cyclops, jean grey and storm. While they play little role for the bulk of the show, they did play a role.

There were introductions to many new characters featured in the Days of Future Past. Furthermore, we got to see the younger Magneto and Professor X in action. The whole show gave off a calm before the storm atmosphere which helped to build suspense as to when chaos would break out in the timeline that Wolverine was in. All the while, time was ticking in the 'now' where their hideout is being discovered by the Sentinels. Here, the mutants will make their last stand against the Sentinel as one and their fate depends on Wolverine.

This situation certainly helps to build excitement for the critical moment when the past reaches a turning point where Wolverine and his team attempts to change the future and prevent the advent of the Sentinels. Credit should be given to Jennifer Lawrence, the actress behind Mystique who played a central role in this show.

Overall, it was an all right show. Not great but bearable. (I am sorry, I am not a X Men fan.)

I would like to note though, that the next X Men film: Apocalypse seems promising. Until then! 

Princess Mononoke

Secret War Journal[16 March 2014]

Directed by Hayao Miyazaki, this film was first aired in 1997. Based in the setting of a fictitious world where gods take the form of animals and walk among Man. The film follows the story of a prince named Ashitaka. The story begun by showing us how Ashitaka received a curse from fending a demon off from his village. After the village's wise woman proposed that the cure may lie in the West where they came from exile, Ashitaka started his journey to the West.

The film focuses heavily on demonstrating the audience the environmental damage Man cause from urbanization. It make uses of several metaphor to showcase how the act of modernization causes deforestation and loss of habitat for the wildlife. It also explores how such actions could negatively impact us as humans.

The ironic nature of the film was, as I highlighted to my friends, was the environment damage involved in the production of the film. Do not quote me for this but think about it. An animated film requires a considerable amount of time spent on a computer. Usage of computers requires electricity and that indirectly leads to the pollution of our mother Earth.

Nevertheless, we should not ignore the message the film tries to bring across to us. I believe Miyazaki hoped that through this film, more people would be aware of the environmental damage. Deep symbolism is a very apt way to describe the film as a whole.

I would recommend this film to moviegoers who loves to dissect the movie to understand the message that it is trying to bring across. Though the film might be a little old, bear in mind that this was produced in 1997, it is a piece of art worthy of a classic. (In fact, I think it is a classic.) The drawings might look cartoony, but hey, that is precisely the point! It is definitely worth watching for the idea it is trying to reach out to the audience.

Gravity

Secret War Journal[6 November 2013][Spoiler Alert]
Formal Review Background

Winning the "Future Film Festival Digital Award" at the Venice Film Festival, this film visualises what happens if there were to be a man-made catastrophe in space.

The film excels on the heavy use of visual effects to depict the various scenes enacted in the film.

Personal Thoughts
I have no idea why this is categorised as a sci-fic thriller. I was certainly not in any way thrilled by the execution of the movie. There was little suspense, little tension and little excitement from the scenes.

I blame it on the way the scenes are played out. Watching the trailer before the screening made matters worse. The trailer shows you how the story would develop, throwing the suspension right out of the window. Most of the time, I had gripes with the pacing of the show because the film goes in circles to get to the point. We all know the satellite is going to be destroyed by the debris. Get on with it. All this adds to the frustration of trying to 'will' the movie to advance with the plot instead of watching the character drifting in space. While I may acknowledge that it is to highlight to the audience that this is space and when you are lost, you simply drift, but it was done too repetitively. Simply said, it was too much and too long.

The plot twists from the various obstacles she faced along her way to escape was quite a let-down, especially when you knew the length of the film. There was no way the main character would escape without a problem since we have like 60 minutes remaining?

I was kind of disappointed that the male lead was killed, however imminent it was. I dislike shows with only one character on screen but I must admit such a plot device helps to improve the realism of the show (which it excels in).

There was a heart attack moment on the audience when nearing the end of the film, all the signs seems to point towards the female character giving up and tries to commit suicide. As my best friend likes to put it, "If she dies, the theater owes me a movie ticket." While this was done to emulate how an actual person would do when all hope is seemingly gone, it is not appropriate in a thriller. What this scene only serves to frustrate the audience who already cannot wait for the conclusion. Instead of creating suspense (from what? What happens after she dies?), tension (tension from who? No one else is alive...), excitement (what's there left when she just wants to ends her life), what is left is disappointment.

Thus I was kinda glad and relieved when she decides not to instead. How she got the brainwave to escape was cliché but bearable.

Overall, I would not recommend watching this. Unless you are an emotional person who likes to empathise with the characters, you should not be watching this. I would not even recommend this to CGI fans. While there may be various eye candy on the effects (as realistic as they may), I believe there are better films out there with as good effects and better plot.

Iron Man 3

Secret War Journal[18 May 2013][Spoiler Alert]

I apologise for the lack of activity prior to this post. I had been busy with work and the physical copy of my journal was (and as of now, still is) loaned to a close friend of mine. I cannot publish the post without it. Thus, I seek your understanding to bear with it. :P

Woah, it has been some time since I went out for leisure! I had weekend shifts every alternate week recently. Compounded by the fact that most of my friends were having their finals examinations, I really had no one to go out with. Hahas!

After some time, I was really dying to out and unwind. So when Marcus asked if I wanted to watch Iron Man 3, I readily agreed.

Yeah, I know I am late to the bandwagon but hey! Better late than never right?

Plot Summary
Marvel's "Iron Man 3" pits brash-but-brilliant industrialist Tony Stark/Iron Man against an enemy whose reach knows no bounds. When Stark finds his personal world destroyed at his enemy's hands, he embarks on a harrowing quest to find those responsible. This journey, at every turn, will test his mettle. With his back against the wall, Stark is left to survive by his own devices, relying on his ingenuity and instincts to protect those closest to him. As he fights his way back, Stark discovers the answer to the question that has secretly haunted him: does the man make the suit or does the suit make the man?  
- Written by Jawadjee

My view
While I like how the introduction went (like a form of foreshadowing), one part of me wished they left that detail as a mystery. Nevertheless, it did threw me off track for a while since I thought for a moment that Aldrich was Mandarin. Hey, they looked similar, sorta.

Despite what other reviewers thrash about the movie, you must admit that the Aldrich's plan is well-thought. To have a scapegoat like Mandarin is brilliant, provided you do not get caught up in it too. In this case, Aldrich's downfall lies in the fact that he was too openly involved in his experiments. He should had used Mandarin as a puppet thoroughly, only talking through him, such that no one else would be able to identify him as the mastermind if caught. Furthermore, why would you get an actor such as Trevor? Yes, while I agree that he had to get a clueless actor but, an actor that reveals everything to any random stranger? Not the best choice, in my opinion.

Aldrich's mistakes start from the very beginning, when he approached Pepper. This encounter led to Happy being injured in an explosion after tailing Savin, ultimately bringing Stark into the game. Why would you invite disaster into your doorstep? I guess he was blinded by revenge to care. Pity.

Granted, the humour, iconic presence in the Iron Man franchise, is ever still present though remarkably less in this latest film. Watching this movie made me compare to the Dark Knight series unconsciously. After all, the plot this time is much darker than the previous two. With themes such as revenge, humiliation, and growing up, it is difficult to imagine this film being targeted at family. Rather, it is for mature teenagers and above.

Well, he did ask for a digital watch

G.I.Joe: Retaliation

Secret War Journal[30 March 2013][Spoiler Alert]

Before we watch the movie, we decided to spice this movie outing up a bit. Meeting up at City Square Mall, we had lunch at the Kopitiam housed in there.

After purchasing the tickets, we adjourned for some awesome ice-cream at Anderson. Unknown to the organiser, we had prepared something for him. Ending up in this restaurant was a ploy to our next phase of our plan. Not long after we settled down on our seats, a waitress arrived at our table, with an Anderson's Classics.

Happy Birthday, Johnston!

And the rest was savoured. ;)

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Settlers of Anderson
While waiting time to pass, we started to play some board games.

Let the games begins!

Who shall emerge victor?

The Birthday Boy wins!

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Retaliation

A sequel to the movie G.I.Joe: Rise of Cobra, I found the subtitle 'Rise of Cobra' more apt for this film instead. In this movie, we see the Cobra commander's rise to power with the aid of Zartan, the master of disguise. As we know, Zartan captured the president and impersonated him during the events of the previous film.

This prior knowledge did spoil a bit of the viewing pleasure from me. I felt that the execution of the plot would be better served with a plot twist revealing Zartan.

Nevertheless, it was a good move to wipe out most of the characters in the beginning. This gives the director the ability to focus on the more important characters. It helps to make this movie looks less clogged with too many characters.

Lastly, I am not a G.I.Joe fanatic. Thus, I am not really sure why was Cobra's second-in-command left out and not saved? I might had left something out. Hmm...

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Swee Choon Tim Sum Restaurant

After the movie, Darian left.

As we had talked for some time, we came to this Restaurant for dinner. There, we met up with Keller.

This restaurant provides Tim Sum delicacy at an affordable price. Some of the must-try dishes include Shanghai Xiao Long Bao, Fried Golden Doufu (I ordered seconds for this! ^^), Plain Noodle and Onion La Mian, Siew Mai (took me some time to realise there are prawns inside. :O)

For those who had yet to try out this restaurant, I strongly recommend you to try it out! I guarantee that you would not regret it. :) 

Getting there:

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"Cultivation to the mind is as necessary as food to the body." - Marcus Tullius Cicero

Zero Dark Thirty

Secret War Journal[26 January 2012][Spoiler Alert]
Chinese New Year is round the corner! Most of my friends have already bought their Chinese New Year clothes but I had not finished my shopping yet. Thus, today we are gathered to get some last minute shopping. Hahas.

With me as advisers are Marcus, Keller, Qi Xiang, and Meldon to accompany me. Originally, I planned to head to Bugis to get a pair of pants for Chinese New Year. I had thought of buying a light brown pants for a very long time, since last year. However, due to unforeseen circumstances, we ended up in Ion Orchard. As I had thought about it for so long, I purchased a pair of Chino pants after trying it out immediately. Meanwhile, Marcus and Keller attempted to find clothes to buy too.

When we were finally done, we had lunch at Pepperlunch while Meldon ate out at Subway since he is vegetarian. Keller had to go after lunch for Reunion dinner. Thus, the rest of us went to play LAN without him.

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Discrepancy

After two hours of gaming, it is time for a movie! Marcus wanted to watch Zero Six Thirty so here we are, heading into the theatre with 2 large drinks and a small-looking popcorn. Without realising we were actually late, causing us to miss out the introduction of the movie. As it turns out, it is actually quite important because the omission of the very beginning took me some time to understand when the movie actually started in.
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Review
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At this point, I feel that I should include the synopsis of the movie or else I am afraid some people who get lost here. :P
Synopsis
A chronicle of the decade-long hunt for Al-Qaeda terrorist leader Osama bin Laden after the September 2001 attacks, and his death at the hands of the Navy S.E.A.L. Team 6 in May 2011.

Maya is a CIA operative whose first experience is in the interrogation of prisoners following the Al Qaeda attacks against the U.S. on the 11th September 2001. She is a reluctant participant in extreme duress applied to the detainees, but believes that the truth may only be obtained through such tactics. For several years, she is single-minded in her pursuit of leads to uncover the whereabouts of Al Qaeda's leader, Osama Bin Laden. Finally, in 2011, it appears that her work will pay off, and a U.S. Navy SEAL team is sent to kill or capture Bin Laden. But only Maya is confident Bin Laden is where she says he is.

- Source: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1790885/

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Perhaps the first thought that would come to mind when the movie finishes would be that the movie was a bit too long. Designed to be slow-paced movie to allow the audience to ponder and reflect through the process of finding Osama bin Laden to his imminent death, the lengthy film has a tendency to tire out the audience as they strain their brains for a good 157 minutes. Not very gentle for the causal moviegoers, I would say.

One of the highlights of the earlier parts of the movie would be the treatment of the confinees. Captured terrorists were held in black sites. There, they were 'tortured' and brutally interrogated. Treatments include depriving them of food and beverage, physical punishment and water torture. Tactics such as occasionally being nice to get information were also used to obtain intelligence on the extremist movements. These continued to be used in the war effort against terrorists until President Obama put an end to it due to the public uproar over it.

While it is a serious breach on human rights, let us pause for a moment and ask ourselves: Why did the Intelligence Branches have to resort to such inhumane acts? I am not supporting nor sanctioning such acts but they do have a point, which Kathryn emphasize quite brilliantly. Without the threats that they can issue to the confinees, how are they going to 'persuade' them to leak vital information that would help to prevent terrorist attacks, hence saving countless lives in the process? The principle "kill one to save many" is a cruel mandate but if one is given a choice to kill one to save many or kill many to save one, I believe the answer by most would be the former.

Meanwhile, the movie then goes on with their struggles with obtaining information without the conventional means. As terrorist attacks grow rampant, it became a race against time for the operatives to obtain useful leads to guard against future attacks. On the other hand, Maya, the main lead in the movie, with the help of her aide got hold of a terrorist who seems to be willing to sell the terrorist network out for money. On the promise of information about the elusive network, they decided to meet face to face in a camp supposedly named Camp Chapman. When the convoy comes into the camera view and a sad music plays in the background, you already know full well that the outcome is not going to be pretty. In the end, the informant turns out to be a suicide bomber (no surprise, is there?), killing Maya's aide and a task force with him.

That was a setback that almost broke Maya. However, she instead decided to turn it into a force of hatred, driving her to find the heart of the network and hunt him down, Osama. Not much progress was made until one fateful day, they found the real identity of Osama's most trusted courier. Seeking him finally led them to the whereabouts of Osama and the rest, as they say, was history.

Wreck it Ralph

Secret War Journal[30 December 2012][Spoiler Alert]
Our very first cousin outing! Sadly, my sister, Lera was not able to make it due to some family politics.

Paperman
A short movie flick by Disney Studios which was memorable to me because I was certainly not expecting this movie clip before the actual movie at all. For a brief moment, I really thought I entered the wrong cinema! Hahas!

Despite the initial shock, this touching and romantic clip was very effective in spite of its length.

I think it has such an impact on me because it is touching in that it demonstrates how the power of love (being Disney) can change one's life. Yes, even ruining your career, hahas!

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Ralph? Rah ha ha?
Honestly though, I wonder how Disney was able to get past all the trademarks? There was cameo from Street Fighter, and Oreo!
I really liked the part where the Oreo warriors started to chant Oreo! Oreo! Oreo! Hahas.

Plot-wise, I can empathise how Ralph felt as a villain. You cannot stay a villain too long before, being a human, you feel unwanted in life. That would really cost you a lot of your own self-esteem. Eventually, you just feel as though you lost all meaning in life. Thus, I understand why Ralph decided to jump ship. No hard feelings, Ralph.

What are your initial thoughts when you first meet Vanellope? I felt that the introduction was a bit out of the blue but they make up for it with the comic relief of the encounter between her and Ralph.

Her cloths... are defying gravity. LOL

Forgive me for being ignorant. For a moment, I thought she was the cybug that mutated into a character in Sugar Rush. How wrong was I? Oops. But hey, if she turned out to be a cybug in disguise, it would perfectly explain her glitchy characteristics. :P Just saying.

After a while, I must say Vanellope grew on me. I guess she is my favourite character in the movie. She reminds me of so many things. (Beauty of Disney eh?) She is someone with a clear vision ("Racing's in my code!") and despite all odds ("Everyone here says I'm just a mistake and that I wasn't even suppose to exist.") she does not give up. That's how we should live our life. Sometimes, social norms may stop us in our tracks, making us rethink if this is how we should live our lives. However, we should be unfazed by that and live our dreams!

"As your merciful princess, I hereby decree that everyone who was ever mean to me shall be... executed."

One of the biggest slap that Disney Studios gave me was the true identity of King Candy. I was an idiot to not totally see it coming. All the signs were there! Heck, the director, Rich Moore even threw in foreshadowing and I was still looking the wrong way. Oh my god, my inference skills need brushing up!

I think Disney Films are slowly deviating from their traditional princess films. (this sounds familiar, did I say this before? Hmm..) As you can see from this film, they separated the romance from the main character cast. (I mean, Ralph x Vanellope? No way, hahas) Instead, the romance comes from Felix Jr and Calhoun, both of which are supporting characters. I do not really like them but I must admit they are needed to reach the ending. Not to mention, the occasional comic relief from them. :P

All in all, I think it was my money to watch this movie. I certainly did not feel that I wasted my money and I would recommend you guys to watch it too. :)
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Hasty Scribblings:

• So what really happened to that soldier from Hero's Duty that was replaced by Ralph? Still in that storeroom? Hahas!
• Why did Ralph not get Vanellope to finish the finishing line instead of evacuating her? (When he knows she cannot exit the game) That would reset the game and technically remove the 'virus', no? :O
• I wonder what would really happen if Vanellope really executed everyone who was mean to her? Hahas! That game would really be broken then.
• Seriously, a main character that can teleport in-game? We need some balance!
• Notice that their clothes never get wet or dirty? How cool is that?
• The scenery in Sugar Rush reminds me of Cadbury Chocolate land in their advertisements.
• In my opinion, the highlight of the show was Vanellope exchanging remarks with Ralph.

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Before watching the movie, my cousins and I went to have lunch at Korean BBQ at Tampines One!

As it turns out, we are not prepared for Korean BBQ. Just finishing two plates of raw meat, most of us were feeling full already. :P

Man, our appetites are too weak. Fortunately, Yuki and I managed to finish 2 or 3 more plates of Chicken Leg meat. Tze Yui, on the other hand, ate more beef. XD Finally, our man, Qi Xian went about feasting on watermelons to finish his watermelon sculpture. Hahas!

Before we knew it, it was almost time for the movie so we had to leave. :O
Time really flies when you are cooking the food yourself. Since meat takes quite a decent time to be fully cooked, you cannot help but feel that not a lot of time had passed when a lot of time had actually went by.

We were almost late for the movie, with much hilarious results. We almost gave up buying drinks though we did give up buying popcorn (also partly because we were too full. :D)

All I can say is, hallelujah for 10 minutes of advertisements before the movie officially starts. >=D

The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey

Secret War Journal[15 December 2012]
After attending Playhouse 2012, Johnston, Qi Xiang and I decided to play LAN to kill time, since the movie starts at 8:30pm.

I am proud to inform you that, the seats this time round are well-positioned because I made the effort to go to the cinema early in the morning to buy the tickets. There was hardly anyone there then and I had a wide range of seats to choose from. :) *feels proud*

Some of you would be wondering why did I not just buy online. I mean why the hassle?! You're right. I did try to. Sadly, I do not own a debit nor a credit card. Furthermore I wanted to take advantage of certain discount when I buy the tickets over the counter. (which turned out to be a failure, by the way, the Hobbit was an exclusive movie until 16 December. As a result, there were no discount. :()

Soon, it was time for the movie. With only three of us, we decided to buy one popcorn combo and meatballs. However, I did not expect that the large size popcorn to be so small. Hahas, the irony. Like what Johnston said, the size of the large popcorn looks like the past regular size popcorn. We were contemplating whether to buy another popcorn combo since Johnston and I felt that there is a chance that we may finish the popcorn and the meatballs very fast, leaving us with nothing to eat.

Sure enough, before the movie was reaching midway, we finished our meatballs and popcorn. Hahas, we managed to survive without food for the remainder of the time in the cinema as the movie was great, in my opinion.
--
As many of you would know, the Hobbit: An unexpected journey was based on a book, prequel to the renowned trilogy - the Lord of the Rings. It was meant to be a book for children and centres on the adventures of the hobbit, Bilbo Baggins.

In this particular arc, Gandalf the Brown decided to involve the hobbit in an adventure with a merry company of dwarves to reclaim their ancient kingdom that was taken from them from a black dragon.

Apparently, after watching the movie, the studio behind the movie decided to include tales from the Silmarillion, explaining more about the lore in Tolkien's fantasy world and hinting the coming of the nazgul, with the appearance of a witchking.

Although I did not like the introduction of the movie, I must admit that the appearance of Frodo Baggins was effective in bringing back memories from the Lord of the Rings.

Gandalf! Ah the wizard is supposedly younger since the story is set 60 years before the events of the Lord of the Rings. However, as this movie is directed 10 years after the last Lord of the Rings film, Gandalf looked noticeably older which was ironic. XD Perhaps Gandalf the Brown was not yet adept in magic to make him look youthful.

Yet he is not the only wizard in middle earth! We know that there is Saruman the White ,who appears in the movie, but are there more? It is mentioned in the movie that there are 5 wizards in middle earth, one white, 2 brown, 2 blue. While the blue wizards did not appear in the movie, I would love to see future sequels explaining the roles that the Blues play.

Speaking of which, while the source material was quite a thin book, the addition of other source materials allowed the story to be made into a trilogy. This may seem like a letdown as one is tempted to think that it is some money making gimmick.
Well, I do not know if it is really the case but I felt that the pacing of the movie was good and given the length of the movie, it is justified to split it into at least 2 films.

Finally, another aspect that the film was successful in what the candid interactions between Bilbo and Gollum. It created an opportunity for comic relief and it was well-played.

Thus, this is definitely a film to watch this month and I felt that it was better than the Lord of the Rings trilogy but it is too early to say as this is just the first of the three.

Skyfall

Secret War Journal[10 November 2012]
This movie outing was organised quite in a rush. The original plan was to watch last week when it supposedly premièred. However, as my grandmother had been admitted to a hospital, I had to cancel the outing to visit my grandmother.

As a result, I postponed the movie outing to this Saturday. As a consequence, Marcus was not able to make it. Keller had returned to Singapore but he is busy on that day as well. (Awww....)

In addition, I just had a short field camp during the weekdays. I was not able to finalise the details until the day itself as I was close to being knocked out on Friday night.

That was evident by the fact that I missed my stop twice in the train because I fell asleep, causing me to detour twice. Finally, I blocked people from entering the bus because I was first in line and I fell asleep.

Hahas, embarrassing moments of my life. :P

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One aspect of the movie that I really liked was the way the scriptwriter kept emphasising the theme - Skyfall. From the beginning to the end of the movie, there were many references to the theme. It serves to tell the audience why the movie was named so.

In many ways, this is truly a action-packed movie. More of explain less, more action formula, I would say. I would say the formula for this plot because the plot is not hard for the audience to understand why certain things happen in such a manner. Thus, there was no need for the characters to explain, which would make the movie quite dull indeed.
Removing the lengthy explanations, all that is left would be pure action sequences where you get to see the main character constantly running into obstacles and overcoming them.

Quite surprisingly, this movie deviated from the normal James Bond formula. I must admit that I entered the Cinema expecting a female sidekick/lover shooting with James Bond. All I got was quite different from my expectations. A brief moment with a female character with a random embrace and kiss with virtually no character development. I guess it was their way of saying, "Hey, the usual features of a James Bond movie is still present!" but I am not buying it when the female character felt like an afterthought.

The movie also paid homage to some past James Bond movies which I find was not too bad but certainly not a plot device to be used in future James Bond movie any longer since the effect would be lost.

Finally, what I liked best about the movie was their witty responses which brought smiles to the audience, if not laughter (I am sure)!

Citadels & Looper

Secret War Journal[20 October 2012]
It is time to celebrate Qi Xiang's Birthday!

Together with Marcus and Meldon, we had a blast at Mindcafe near Dhouby Ghaut.

We played a match of Settlers of Catan. After that, we went on to play a round of Citadels.

Citadels

Apart from Qi Xiang, I think the rest of us never played this game before. (At least I know I never played before)

At first look, the game may look a bit complicated due to the presence of 4 different sets of cards, excluding the instructional cards. Of course, on hindsight, it certainly looks a lot less complicated than Settlers of Catan but hey, I was not comparing this board game to any game when I first saw the contents.

Basically, in this game, your goal is to accumulate as much points at the end of the game. The game ends at the end of the round when a player constructed 8 districts.

The more expensive your districts are, the more points it would contribute. Players who constructed 8 districts at the end of the game would receive bonus points and the first player to construct 8 district would receive the most bonus points. Some districts have special abilities.

Perhaps, the key element of the game is the character cards. Each round, you get to choose a class/character where no one else knows until it is revealed later phase of the round. Each character has a special ability which you can use in that round. Some abilities include destruction of a district, extra gold, make a player lose a turn.

The remaining 2 sets of cards are bonus decks which you can opt to replace the original cards in the district and character decks. In my opinion, some of the cards from the bonus decks are quite imbalanced and breaks the game but that's just me. :P

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The Present
Before we headed off to the cinema, we side-tracked a bit to a nearby games store.

Mind you, this was all planned beforehand.

Qi Xiang had mentioned about this game for quite some time already. Since he does not yet own this game, we decided it would make quite a decent birthday present for him.

Thus, as we entered the store, we started to talk about the latest games available in various consoles. Meanwhile, Marcus went to purchase the game to present it to Qi Xiang.

Qi Xiang looked a bit shocked when he saw the present. He had an expression which said "I can't believe you guys just bought this for me!". Hahas!

Mission accomplished. Time to watch the movie. :P

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Looper

In my opinion, it was an insightful movie. Though I won't call it a great movie but it is indeed thought-provoking. Time travel has been a concept that many had imagined. However, many considerations need to be taken when writing a script based on time travel. It is just so easy to create paradox on the fly when you are writing a story with time travel involved.

Looper is one such movie that leads one to feel that the author did not bother to tie up the loose ends in the movie, leaving the paradox unexplained. Of course, it could also be the intention of the author to leave it to the watcher's imagination. Sometimes, explaining the paradox could kill the action in the movie which I would agree in this case since this movie is seriously lacking some thrilling action. Even though I believe it was not meant to be an action movie, but hey, a little more action would not hurt right?

One aspect I really liked about the movie was how the director managed to portray the motivations of various characters in the movie. Despite the lack of screen time for the older Joe, it is not difficult to know the driving force behind his actions. Similarly for Kid Blue, his motivations are also explained in the movie.

Regarding comic relief, I believe one of the best played scene was the anti-climatic scene, much similar to the anti-climatic scene in Iron Man 2. Another well-played act was the conversation between the two Joes in the restaurant.

Comparing to other time travel pieces, I feel that Steins;Gate is still a better option. It could possibly due to the fact that it is not a movie but has many episodes to slowly build up on the time travel concept which gives Steins;Gate ample time to close the loose ends. Steins;Gate allows the audience to get mind-blown as everything makes sense, where everything fits despite the move into the next time line, preventing major paradoxes.

Finally, Looper is a movie that ensures that one would be talking about it after the movie, allowing intellectual discussions on each other's perceptions/understanding of the movie. Each and everyone has different approach to understanding the movie, allowing this movie to be a great topic to converse about in social gatherings. That is where Looper truly shines, I feel.

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"I must govern the clock, not be governed by it." - Golda Meir

Total Recall 2012

Secret War Journal[25 August 2012]
As humans, we all change. Some change more, some change less. Yet all change. As others progress while you are stuck in place, the feeling experienced is of sadness. The compulsion to move forward is overwhelming me, I need to take a step forward. A step towards a better future...

Review:
I understand that this 2012 film is a remake of the 1990 film. However, I did not have the fortune of watching the original film.

For this movie, I can safely label the film as an action-packed thriller. The action was indeed non-stop, a plus for movie-goers who wish for some action. Despite that, I should caution that the action is not exactly very thrilling. It felt bland, of which I am not very sure why. Perhaps, it bears resemblance to the Minority report hence making me unable to feel the adrenaline rush during the action scenes. Nevertheless, it is certainly nice to watch constant action while at the same time explaining the plot.

This movie also reminds me of closed-room mystery games where the main character forgot who he was.

The ending could had been better crafted, in my opinion. The ending presented left much to desired, as though an important component of the plot was unexplained.

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As many would had guessed, it had been a long time since I last watched movie. For this particular outing, Jie Sheng was the one who planned it. Along with him are Bao Lin, Cynthia and Siew Yan.

Except for the guys, they are all studying in University now. Time sure pass very pass, huh?

Today was also the day I ate 90% of the sweet popcorns of the Jumpo-sized box, no thanks to Jie Sheng was got sick of the sweet popcorns all of sudden and switched to potato chips, leaving me alone to clear the remaining popcorns! Hahas! I think I have enough popcorns for the entire year already, sorry popcorn makers! :P

One hilarious event that happened today was also how Cynthia, who brought $50 to help us buy movie tickets and popcorns, went home with $51. One of the rare moments when one actually made money by a wide margin when helping people buy stuff. XD
--
After the movie, we had a chat at the rooftop. I am not sure about the rest but the scene there gave me release.

Spending so much time away from civilian life, I am finally able to do something I sort of wanted. Maybe one day, I would get to chat with close friends on a roof, on a hill, overlooking vast plains. For now, overlooking short buildings will do. Strangely enough, it gave me a sort of peace that I so rarely receive.

Tempted as I was to shout out loud then, I knew it was the right place to do it. One day, I should visit the hills to shout my lungs out. Perhaps then...
--
Before heading home, we met up with Cynthia's sister, Sharon, who was having desserts in the shopping mall too.

Then I am home, a foreign thing nowadays...

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"For the past 33 years, I have looked in the mirror every morning and asked myself: 'If today were the last day of my life, would I want to do what I am about to do today?' And whenever the answer has been 'No' for too many days in a row, I know I need to change something." - Steve Jobs

Mission Impossible 4: Ghost Protocol

Secret War Journal[30 June 2012]

I know this is a bit late but I sorta missed the opportunity to watch this in a cinema.

Thus, today, we are gathered to watch this movie at Bao Lin's house. With us today are Bao Lin, Cynthia, Jie Sheng, Siew Yan and Wei Ting. :)

Though conflicting recounts may result, I believe I am finally arriving on time once again for outings. XD
This is actually harder than it sounds, given that I have to commit a large amount of time to wash army clothes and equipments. Often enough, I had to leave the house later than planned due to me being preoccupied with washing.

Therefore, I am happy to say that I can be on time for the outing.
However, some (cynthia, for one) would disagree since I reached there on time BUT had not had lunch despite telling the rest to have lunch before arriving. Hence, I ended up eating while the rest chatted. XD
--
My views on the movie:

• Definitely action-packed!
• Comic relief was of quality
• I think the difference between the background music and the voice of the characters were a bit too great, the former too loud whilst the latter too soft. Just technical though.
• The plot was not bad but I cannot help but notice that they omitted certain gadgets / methods of completing the mission to develop the story as the writers intended.
• I like the cast for the movie. Awesome!
• One reason I like these kind of movie is the cool gadgets they get to use. Hey, I am a sucker for such "superagent" stuff. :D
• The introduction of the movie was way too long, but it pulled off.
• The ending on the whole hand was kind of disappointing though...

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FRIES! FRENCH FRIES!

On an unrelated note, Bao Lin's sister bought a great amount of fries for a hugely discounted price at Gmarket! Today, we had the opportunity to savour some of the food she bought. :)

They taste like potato chps.

Personally, I like the spicy flavour ones more but that could be just me. ;)

However, I would dare say that people who do not like salty food would not appreciate these food. :O

Avengers

Secret War Journal[5 May 2012]
I should had written this earlier but it had been one hectic week for me in army. As of writing, it is now 11 May and I am not sure when I can finish writing this post.

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Loki is back

Perhaps one of the most anticipated movie of the year, many other past Marvel movie had been aired for the set-up for this movie.


On the whole, I felt that the movie was nice. Although there were times I was a little puzzled how certain events happen, it still can make some sense in a way.

The story development was undoubtedly decent, probably due to the fact that it was adapted from the comics. (Not that I do not wish to give the scriptwriters credit but hey, that's the truth. :O) The CGI in the movie was also not bad though there were some scenes where the background were obviously artificially. (which was unfortunate as it did not take a trained eye to notice that.)

Personally, the key highlight of the movie to me was not the superheroes, the story plot, the action, nor its graphics. It was the comic relief and its effectiveness. Due to its origin from comics, it is not uncommon to have comic relief throughout the movie, even at inappropriate scenes. Nevertheless, I would say that it was very effective at those sense.

As usual, Marvel comics movies always end with a teaser for their next movie.

Avengers 2, anyone? =)

Battleship

Secret War Journal[30 April 2012]
Care for a game of Battleship?

 

It has been a long time since I last played that board game. Hahas, certain readers would notice that it has been a long time since I last did anything (which is actually true, as hard as it is to believe. Look, so I had concentrated a tad too heavily on studies for a moment of time...). I certainly do not mind having a challenger once in a while for fun's sake.

Okay, so I know that the movie has been out for some time and I am really lagging behind for watching this late. But hey, at least I watched it! (Best excuse ever, in my opinion :)

Speed-track to Little India. Is there a cinema there? At least not one that I am aware of. So why were we there? Because Cynthia said so. :O Joking. We wanted to walk from Little India to Bugis Junction. Cynthia had walked before so the chances of us being lost should be relatively low. (Not to mention her superb sense of direction, compared to Bao Lin and me). According to the map (look I am better friends with maps XD), it should be a pretty clear-cut route with us heading roughly 20 degrees from the south, towards the east from Little India, a little past Rocher Centre to reach Bugis Junction. And so we headed out from the subway station, immediately sighting the Rocher Centre. Unfortunately, while we moved towards it, we met blockades in the form of construction sites. As a result, it was no longer a straight forward route as we make our way around these blockades.

We turned left and right, almost effectively walking in circles. Well, I would say it was a fun trip. Eventually, we walked a semi-circle from Little India to Bugis. Along the way, we discussed on our lunch and we decided on a Japanese Restaurant named Kazokutei which specialises in Udon.

 The reason we decided on Kazokutei was due to the Nabeyaki Udon + Katsu don set which is suitable for one or two persons.

Nabeyaki Udon + Katsu Don Set

After spending some time under the gentle sun (I think the days spent in army has lowered my tolerance for hot weather, ironically.) from the walk to Bugis Junction, I think Bao Lin was tired from the walk. Myself, I am not exactly sure if I was tired. I know that before being conscripted into army, such a walk is nothing but now... I am not so sure anymore. At least after my 3 day rest due to medical leave, my appetite has improved. As a result, Bao Lin and Cynthia shared a Nabeyaki Udon + Katsu Don set while I took on one myself. Bao Lin took that Katsu Don plus the mango soda she ordered while Cynthia had the remaining Udon.

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Bugis Street, and the quest for a pair of glass shoes

After lunch, it is time for some shopping! I guess every one of us present has something in mind to buy. (Okay, maybe not for Bao Lin)

We spent a good hour and more in Bugis Street before Jie Sheng arrived. We then resumed our shopping in Bugis Junction. Unfortunately, lady luck was not shining on Cynthia, she did not succeed in getting a pair of shoes to her liking. I guess she just has to continue her quest another day. :O

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Battleship the Movie

Siew Yan joined us for the movie!

My views on the movie? The introduction was really rushed. I cannot help but feel that the prologue was just there as a tool for some foreshadowing. Personally, it could be better weaved in the movie seamlessly without feeling disjointed.
The soccer scene before the actual start of the plot was all right for its character development. I believe where the movie really shines would be its climax, which is a very good thing. It makes the movie worth watching. The action was non-stop yet does lead one to feel nausea. Basically, the pace of the action during the climax was just right.
The use of comic relief from the scientist was well-used and appreciated. The character development during the climax felt a little bit rushed but still acceptable, I guess?
However, to my dismay, the ending was rushed very abruptly. I felt that it was uncalled for though the final scene of suspense was good, though critics would call that scene cliche.
Overall, I would give it a 3 out of 5 stars. :)

After the movie, we headed home, tired as we were.

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Now, if you would excuse me, I need to plan an outing to watch Avengers. gah! XD