Awakening.

Simply because. And my fingers were itching to write something so I decided to put whatever inspiration that is to good use. On another note, CSI last night was major-ly sweet! Sara and Gil Grissom ftw. (:

For someone who hardly reads chick-lit and almost never watches rom-coms, I am surprisingly adept at writing romance. Yes, I said it. I dunno where it comes from, so please, bear with me if I sounded overly Twilight at times. If Stephenie Meyer toned down the horror and do more research, perhaps the story might still be alright. See? I am not overly biased! But I still have no shame, evidently.

Call this a drabble, warm-up or whatever. It’s Cheri getting her writing streak back on.

Untitled poem is untitled.

Wrote this on the way back from Sunway, and continued all the way before and after dinner. Turns out that I still have what it takes to write something!

Anyway, before you read this, I just have a few things to say.

I’ve always wanted to write a poem about Okami ever since I started watching the terrific gameplay by Chuggaaconroy on Youtube. I am seriously in love with this game, forever and always. And! I started writing this poem with Okami in mind. I swear I did. That was until I got deviated by another, which made this poem appear to have a double meaning, at least to me. Actually, I’ve incorporated references from the game/story throughout the poem, but I suppose I’m probably the only one who can see it. Fail. So if you happen to think I based it off from somewhere else then hurhur

But if you haven’t heard of Okami (which you really should) that’s alright. Even better actually-feel free to interpret this poem as you see fit!

And as you can see by the lame title, I don’t have a title for this poem. Totally and completely stuck. So, I welcome suggestions of any kind. But I may or may not use your ideas-if I do I will definitely credit you, of course.

Julian, I blame you for this! You should know the extent of your ‘crime’, haha. Long story short-there was a Tumblr page. And the rest is history.

Henceforth, I am not going to lie that the distraction that I encountered while writing came in the form of Loki. In my head, he overwhelmed the Okami idea I had and… well. See what fangirling does to me?? Even though the tumblr page was introduced to me only today while I wrote the poem on Wednesday… well. Doesn’t matter.

But I admit. Loki/Hiddleston is amazing. And I’m quite pleased with how this poem turned out, amidst the Okami/Loki hiccup. WHATEVER.

So, is my poem about Okami, or Loki, really? You be the judge, but I think we all know the answer.

Evidently, I have no shame.

Your eyes of searing flame,
A driving beacon in the gloom,
The spirit of a wolf, none can tame,
Fates of may, interwoven on a loom.

Running with fire and ice,
Your forbidden chanty serenades me,
Like a dancer your strides entice,
Intoning your promise for eternity.

In the dark, I see your reflection,
A shadow of the power you wield,
Discord and mischief honed to perfection,
Behind a smile, knowingly sealed.

Blood and wine, I grant you my heart,
My soul and vessel forevermore,
Your kiss and insignia, never to depart,
A pyre in winter’s unrelenting war.

In the land of Ikea… Yes, there’s actually a Part II

Yes, there’s a continuation to my initial review of Thor!

I had a pretty big privilege (and really good coincidence) to have another go at Thor. Exactly one week after when I last watched it!

But movie aside, I simply felt that today was an enjoyable day. In my opinion, some movie experiences are made better with a good friend in tow, and somehow Thor was one of those moments. I’ve only watched two movies twice in the past, both in the same year of 2005-Corpse Bride and Chicken Little. Corpse Bride was good-I can watch it a billion times and still come off saying it was a very romantic movie, Tim Burton-style. I can’t say the same for Chicken Little, and until today I still think it’s a big joke.

Thanks, Jason.

So yeah, I only re-watch movies with a select few. Special people! Just kidding, but you get my drift.

I will not rewrite my review on Thor (because frankly I still think it’s kinda disappointing) but I shall talk about a few memorable moments and even scenes that I missed like 90% because I wasn’t paying attention. Yes. You got that right.

-Although this didn’t happen in the movie, I have to say this: the guy at the counter actually told us to stay behind and wait for that extra scene after the credits! First time being notified and while I already know that there’s a clip, it’s nice that people let you know about things like this. Makes your movie experience more worthwhile-pfft. Still, people ought to let the viewers know that for future movies!

-I was coughing a lot. A LOT. I didn’t quite like the fact that the weather was rather hazy and the cinema was cold. The result? Dry coughing ensues. My coughs sort of picked up when they focused on that frigid planet Jotunheim, and it’s totally pardonable okay? When I get to UK I am so screwed.

-I so did not fangirl. No, I didn’t. Never did.

-The hall we were in had lousy audio. One moment it was deafening, and the next it was suddenly muffled. Towards the end I really had to cover my ears when Loki and Thor fought. It was like they were fighting in front of me. I was totally on the verge of shouting and asking them to stop killing each other.

-When I found out that Zachary Levi was actually slated to play the blonde guy with the annoying musketeer mustache I was rather relieved that he didn’t take on this role. Because the three warriors and Sif did not get a lot of screen time. And the Asian guy had the least lines. As usual, Hollywood.

-Agent Coulson is kinda funny. Honest! Well he was annoying the first time, and tolerable the second time around. I love it so much when he mentioned Tony Stark by name-even though he didn’t show up in person. Rats.

-Asgard is looking more artificial the second time I watched it. And the razzle dazzle! I think sun glasses are a necessity for inhabitants there.

-Saw the marksman working his bow and arrow again. In the rain. At night.

-I actually didn’t catch the dialogue where Loki tells Thor that he is exiled from Asgard on my first watch. Why? Because at that moment, I decided that Tom Hiddleston’s face is all I shall look at. And I did. Unashamedly. He looks amazing in a suit. There, I said it.

-In fact, it was on some weird whim that I made up my mind the very next day last week after Thor that Tom Hiddleston is dreamy. And that I absolutely dig his costume design-everything but that helmet. I do not agree with that helmet. ‘Nuff said. Apart from that, I’m all on board.

-His outfits were the best looking ones. Hands down, because I’m terribly biased at this point. I think I must really dislike armor. That ridiculously horned helmet oh my god

-Upon watching this the second time, I kept telling myself to actually focus on the story and well, stop being so besotted? Oh, the fail.

-Was it necessary to mention at the end of the credits that ‘Thor will appear in The Avengers‘? Just like repeating again that the producers of Iron Man and Thor are of the same-Marvel, we get it. 

-The Destroyer is still frightening. Period. I got shocked when he ‘slapped’ Thor (ahaha Hwee Lynn) the first time and the second time was no different. Not helping when the sound system took that moment to malfunction. But the fact that Thor defeated him so easily… meh.

-Lastly, finally caught the special clip after the credits. And right now, I’m on cloud nine.

I think I would have gone on ranting for a little bit longer-if I wasn’t as tired as I am now. Perhaps it’s a good thing, because I didn’t want to get overly one-sided and turn this entry into a glorifying post for Loki. While I really like him, I didn’t want to go all psycho. Nah, I don’t think I am that overreactive.

But Sebastian Michaelis, I am totally dumping you.

Anyway, brb daydreaming 

In the land of Ikea

I swear, my title is perfectly relevant.

I think we all know that Hollywood is seemingly scraping the bottom of their think-tank, trying to come up with a film that isn’t dull, full of loaded effects but still bland or a movie that actually works in every aspect.

So I was rather suspicious of the sudden boom in superhero movies in 2011. Some are saying that Iron Man and other Marvel films are just the tip of the iceberg, because The Avengers is the main course while these are just the appetizers. But that won’t be until 2012, so if the world hasn’t met its demise yet we will see this either really good or plain horrible movie in theaters then.

Then again I am digressing like crazy here. Allow me to wheel back to the supposed movie I will write about.

On Wednesday, a friend and I decided almost simultaneously that we will watch Thor. Because it looks really epic and there isn’t any other show that appeals to us. But! We treated it as a fun ride and went in the hall without any expectations-or did we?

I think other occupants in the hall must really hate me. I don’t know if my snide remarks, snarky laughter or just any random word uttered have reached anyone’s ears and ticked them off before. Then again, I never got told off by anyone, but I never know. At times I think I’ve even annoyed myself. Perhaps I ought to whisper from now on, but I still allow myself to laugh as loudly as I dare when the entire audience is laughing. Deal.

Thor takes on an emerging trend of god-related films lately, this time of Norse mythology. Thor disobeys his father Odin, and to teach his hot-headed son a lesson about life (and to stop being an idiot), his own father stripped him of his power and banished him to Earth, along with his iconic hammer. On the hammer, Odin, cast a spell (did he?), saying that only a person worthy of its power may wield the weapon.

I think the gods must really hate Earth. Or it’s just Thor. Because he had an ‘FML’ look when he knew he was stranded on our planet.

Nice.

So, our titular character crashes to our beloved realm in a showy blast of auroras and comets… and sparkly stars, whatever. Lo and behold, he landed right in the path (literally) of scientist Jane Foster. And without further ado, her assistant Darcy Tasers him. And later on he got tranq-ed because he simply wouldn’t stop being an idiot.

It didn’t take Thor very soon to learn how to adjust to human life, apart from smashing cups and demanding a pet shop to supply him with a horse. As the movie progresses, his level of idiocy goes down, and there is that compulsory scene where he walks around shirtless. Because we all know that 30 pounds of muscle must not be put to waste.

No, I wasn’t entranced.

Meanwhile, Odin being a king and having cast his own son away from him fell into a comatose state which is said to allow him to heal. Erm, okay? His son and Thor’s younger brother, Loki steps forth to claim the throne. Determined to prove himself to his father, he deceived both good and bad, sent a really frightening machine to Earth to eliminate Thor, and did battle with his brother.

The movie concludes (somewhat) with Loki plunging to his (I won’t call that death because that is a strange C.O.D) and both worlds being restored. Happy ending, continuation towards another Marvel movie, yada yada. Anyhow! There was an extended scene after the credits that I missed (actually I would say 98% or maybe everyone in my hall did), but according to sources online, Nick Fury shows up wearing his serious face, eyepatch and all.

I think eyepatches are catching on as a trend.

It was only yesterday that I looked through the movie’s concept art. And was blown away by the effort and thought that went into making this movie. Any movie, in fact. The herculean amount of work that defines a film is staggering, every time I think of it. I will not go into detail on how beautiful or how proportional the figures were drawn because it’s so cliche for an art student to say those lines. Jeez.

Alas, yet again which I will blast yet another movie for being overly shallow in terms of plot. Or the fact that the movie appeared to moving way too fast. While it was already implied that Jane will fall in love with Thor, there wasn’t enough time to show their chemistry nor was there really any substance. I couldn’t remember everyone’s names because they were probably only mentioned once. Or twice. Was Odin’s wife actually mentioned by name? I personally felt that the prelude to Thor’s banishment to Earth ought to be shown at the very beginning instead of cutting back and forth from Earth, to his past, and back to Earth.

And naturally that marksman who almost shot Thor with his arrow could only be someone important-because which sane/normal human being uses bow and arrow to take down an enemy on a rainy night? In a government facility where people like SWAT or highly trained gunmen exist? Another mention is that Agent Coulson appears here and there throughout the film as an annoying presence to the other characters. But then his role is to assure that all the Avengers will be assembled together, so he can go on and be high-and-mighty for now.

According to Wiki, the marksman’s name is Clint Barton aka Hawkeye (master of the obvious name) and surprise, surprise, he is part of the A-team.

But, I really liked that one scene where early in the film, Odin arrives in a glorious burst of golden light amidst the gloom (pshaw) on a mythical beast known as Sleipnir. It is an eight-legged stallion that is said to run as fast as lightning, and is the steed of Odin. So I appreciate the Norse reference to that. Sleipnir has a really interesting story, if anyone is interested enough to take a peek. I just figured that it’s cool to have read of something years and years ago and knowing what it is, so let me have my moment.

So another film with a borderline plot coupled with really amazing special effects. It’s worth an entire NatGeo documentary about the universe because you get generous shots of the stars, planets and other galaxies. Thus we get major eye candy! Not the actors but incredible stars and nebulae!

While Asgard (the realm of the gods) is supposed to look and feel celestial-in a sense, I didn’t quite get that aura from the place, even to the men’s costumes. Yup, I’ve mentioned this before in my previous post when I saw the trailer. They do resemble knights of valor and royalty, but I don’t know about the god part. Thor’s costume screams ‘masculinity’ all over but I won’t go into depth on that. I like how on certain costume designs there’s a subtle hint of Japanese samurai influence. It’s probably just me, because as of now I can’t find any picture to support my theory. But they look great! Or I just happen to hate overly adorned outfits with lots of plating and steel.

And here is my final verdict: Not a fan of the story line-could be better but maybe superhero tales take a similar route in such? I’m not implying that I really thought it was crap, but just saying that a little fine-tuning could’ve made it more fulfilling to watch. Because I did enjoy some small bits of it, here and there. It was close to being a regular feel-good movie. All the actors did a fantastic job on their roles respectively, and I felt that Kenneth Branagh’s take on this comic was like stepping out of his comfort zone, and it was great. I applaud his effort.

The script was even hilarious at some scenes! So all in all it was a decent film. It had some high points, and low points, but I can see why it has garnered mostly favorable reviews thus far. But is Hollywood promoting the overly-buff physique a little too enthusiastically? I find muscular guys very disturbing, so it might be a personal preference.

Now, that we are done with Thor, on to the next Avenger film-Captain America I suppose?

And also, moral of the story: when you watch a Marvel movie, stay in your seat until all the credits have completely (totally) rolled off the screen.

Upcoming Movies

Wait, correct me if I’m wrong, but it’s about to be summer, right?

And summer usually spells a ton of movies. With so many movies coming out, there’s talk on who’s going to outdo the other and which will set the record as the topmost grossing film of this summer-or the year maybe? And perhaps there will be an underdog film that quietly comes along, winning over critics with a wholesome balance of plot.

This year is Marvel’s year huh, I believe I counted almost three movies from the comics out this year, from X-Men, to Thor and The Green Lantern. So, let me list down a few summer movies here, good and bad, and which I may or may not check out.

Edit: And before this post was actually published, I’ve watched Thor already! So I suppose that I ought to get this post up and running first before I begin my review on it.

Harry Potter and The Deathly Hallows, Part II

We all know that the end is coming. And by the looks of the trailer that was out a few days ago, it was incredibly epic. No joke, the only word I will use to describe the trailer would be ‘epic’. Not groundbreaking, so yes there is a difference. I was pleased that they got some details right, like the scene where the trio flees from Fiendfyre (feel free to correct my spelling here), (spoiler!) the scene where Mrs. Weasley duels with Bellatrix (Jason’s favorite Death Eater hands down) and the tear-inducing scene where George Weasley was killed. Ok shoot me now, I forgot if it was Fred or George. Bugger. Showing us the diadem of Ravenclaw was a nice touch of enticing suspense-and having that weird, pointless scene where Harry pulls Voldemort off the castle ridge was just… awkward in many ways.

Not to mention, did anyone count how many times did they show Voldemort emitting cries of fury throughout the 2 minute trailer? Sister and I did-I think we got about 6 times? To whoever that edited the trailer, you just made Voldemort, the Dark Lord, a tad less menacing by inserting him howling a battle call-more than twice.

The scene where the wizards do battle was very new to me. I don’t think there has ever been a movie where wizards fight a war with wands and real magic. While the scenes shown did bring to mind the Helm’s Deep fight from LOTR, I am curious to see how will this battle be brought to life on the big screen. I sincerely hope that this doesn’t flop.

Thor

So the main actor in this film is Miley Cyrus’ ex’s brother? Soooo does that mean we should expect Hannah Montana fans to contribute to Thor’s box office count? And Hollywood should stop emphasizing overly buff men as superheroes. It’s rather creepy because not everyone is that ripped.

I am surprised at the choice of casting Natalie Portman in this sort of film, but then it’s a first for her, so why not? She hasn’t starred in a fantasy film like this before, and I’m confident that she will bring her A-game. Does that make any sense?

I like the bit of humor when Thor got Taser-ed. The God of Lightning got knocked out by… artificial lightning? I suck at being funny.

Note that I do not know anything about Thor except that he is a god. However, other gods shown in the trailer and pictures I’ve seen appear rather odd in life-action. Perhaps it’s just the angles and lighting, but I’m not getting the ‘divine aura’ from them. While they do resemble knights and royalty in their getup, I’m just not feeling the heavenly vibe. We shall see.

Once again I find that giant metal machine figure towards the end looking incredibly out of place-very ungodly-like, it’s like the gods decided to merge analog with digital and the bad guys have gotten robots for weapons. Is Thor supposed to be this futuristic? There wasn’t much of Nordic influence in the trailer-as far as I see it.

Captain America: The First Avenger

Another comic-turned-movie where the main character goes from zero to hero. Upon taking a miracle drug, an ordinary (and scrawny) soldier is suddenly morphed into a really buff guy who heralds a new future for soldiers and warfare. And yet again I know nuts about Captain America except that he dresses in the colors of the flag of USA. And that shield he carries.

I dig the era the movie was set in, presumably WWII. Not much is shown in the trailer, all but his immediate transformation and him leading the fight into the battlefield. We also got a shot of the villain-someone horribly scarred. I’m fully aware that I’m showing my ignorance of comic books.

Transformers: The Dark Side of The Moon

Frankly they should just call this movie The Movie Where Megan Fox Got Replaced By A Victoria’s Secret Model, or Michael Bay Better Have A Good Reason For Casting Rosie Huntington-Whiteley. Because I really don’t know if she have the acting chops, and Megan Fox is close to zero in that said field herself.

Upon watching the teaser where the astronauts found a robot on the moon, I made the biggest fluke of the week by telling my sister that the robot resemble a mustache, when what I meant to say was that the robot looked like he had a mustache. Way to go. Anyway, he did look old.

Basically, the story seems to be the same old thing recycled or other-our battered Earth is fated to be ripped apart by gargantuan machines yet again and it’s up to Sam and his [new] girlfriend and their chunky robot allies to save the day. And also aided by the US military army… and the CIA.

I like the dragon robot. I know that is not relevant, just expressing my love for all things dragonian.

And in all honesty, I do not see how is this movie going to redeem itself. It seems to have all the things that make up a recipe for a cliche, blockbuster: big explosions, epic battle scenes, a hot girl and loads of guns and incredible special effects.

Once again I will stress that mind blowing special effects do not make a movie. They support your film, they make it an awesome visual feast, but in no way does it make your movie a great film. People are going to talk about your CGI (Sucker Punch, anyone?) but no one is going to remember your story and anything else for the matter.

X-Men: First Class

Okay, let me get this straight: having your teaser posters done in a crappy manner does not make your movie first class in my book! Has anyone seen the teaser posters for X Men? The ones with the silhouettes of Magneto and Professor X? With their faces superimposed onto what appears to be their crotch? It’s not just funny, it’s awful. If I were the designer who did the said posters, I would dig a hole and bury myself before the studio can find me and kill me themselves. Or simply just disembowel myself like what samurais do. Don’t believe me? Here’s the offending picture:

I mean, come on!

It’s just… full of bad puns. Or innuendos. Have your pick. I mean, what exactly were the posters trying to imply? That the fate of mutants lie in the … [?] of these two characters? The thought of it is so painful to even imagine, let alone write it out. And yet I show my very dense-ness towards yet another comic book from Marvel… yay. All I know about this film is that this is the prequel of all prequels to X-Men, way before Professor X and Magneto were hurling blows at each other and are best chums. How sweet. I like James McAvoy. Yes, that was just my fangirl within squealing with glee. But his hairstyle combined with his serious face is aging him dreadfully… or maybe that is just the posters’ way of depicting his character… pensive much?

Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides

I’ll definitely list down this movie no matter what-but that is purely out of fangirlism and my loyalty to the PoTC franchise. My logical side is shaking my head somewhat at the idea of making a fourth film for Pirates. Personally, they should’ve just left it at the third movie (it took me two times to understand the plot because there was a lot of rain, swords, barbs and savvy.). When I first heard that they plan to make a fourth, I was like ‘No way. They can’t be serious.’

I really love PoTC. Or rather, I love Jack Sparrow. He is a bonafide ladies man, casanova, whatever. Macho swashbuckling pirate be damned, I’ll take the rum-drinking, ship-less pirate with swag. Did I mention he also has a compass that doesn’t point north?

Call me a sour grape or whatever, but I just feel that there’s so many things that could go wrong with this movie. I fear that the franchise is losing steam. While it pains me to say this, it’s the truth. The third movie was long and choppy (not the waters!) and the story was tricky to catch up with. But I wonder if changing directors will give the movie a new lease on life.

The thing that probably irked me the most was the use of zombies in the plot. Excuse me, but zombies? I think I’m probably way too tired of their presence in movies, games and TV shows. Unless there is a new zombie idea that is different, then I’ll take it. But you guys! There’s been a ton of zombie-related things in the media and I really don’t wish to see one of my favorite franchises fall dead to reanimated corpses. Indirect pun.

So PoTC 4-you better not disappoint!

The Green Lantern

Is this weird or is this weird? The repetition is necessary because I cannot fathom the weirdness of the trailer. Ryan Reynolds is as hunky as ever, but whether does he still retain his manliness in that questionable green suit is subjected to discussion. And that mask around his eyes.

So far it seems that I’m questioning just about every single movie I wrote about here. Because I don’t know if things that look good on paper will look just as amazing  when filmed in real life. Sucker Punch was evidently one of those concepts that just didn’t sound so… great.

I keep thinking of Megamind (yes, that animation with that guy who had a huge head) when I think of Green Lantern. Because there was a similar character in the trailer who had the same physical appearance… and also in a non-human color. Really don’t know about this one.

I’m on the fence with this movie. Because so many comic book-movies have met a most embarrassing demise, and I often cringe on their behalf. So, just don’t screw it up.

My brush with macarons

Who doesn’t like macarons? I mean, how can anyone not be charmed by its adorable little shape, to its crumbly texture that suggests mouth-melting awesomeness to its thin layer of cream that only adds jest and flavor to that tiny little pastry?

I ‘fess up that I’m one of those that break out into squeals when I see something cute-pastries don’t go overlooked here. About what I find adorable, that will probably be left for another post.

Macarons aren’t new here; in fact they have probably been here a while before the trend (could this be considered one?) really caught on. Suddenly it exploded into full bloom and everyone wants a bite of that minuscule biscuit that comes in the colors of the rainbow. Everyone, including me-but then again yours truly has always been rather late to hop on bandwagons. I see them more and more often lately but was hesitant to loosen my purse strings to buy some because… well. I wasn’t sure if I wanted to fork out RM 4.50 for one biscuit. Sure it looks amazing, but what if it tasted weird?

Yesterday, I finally picked up the courage (and money) to go ahead and try some with my sister while we were at Suria KLCC. The location was Isetan, on their supermarket floor. We stumbled across a small stall selling what was left of the day’s macarons. And there were a small group of people clustered around it, presumably taking in the colors that only macarons can acquire. So, we bought four. The flavors were Green Tea, Lemon, Apricot and Chocolate Mint.

We didn’t eat it until we got back. And when we did, the result was… kinda unexpected.

I tried the Green Tea one first. And it didn’t taste remotely like green tea. I drink green tea twice a week so I suppose that I should more or less grasped the essence of that flavor. Which the bright green macaron rather lacked. It tasted sweet, more or less.

Sister tried the lemon one. It was lemon cream sandwiched in between purple colored macarons. Very unusual, but there was some lemon-y taste there (I tried it too).

Chocolate mint was chocolate mint. It only further reconfirmed the fact that I really don’t like mint chocolate. To my taste buds, they don’t go together. Not at all.

Apricot was weird! Not only was it a neon orange (looking uncannily like our orange laundry basket) hue but it tasted nothing like apricot! There was a funny aftertaste that I am sure had no relation to the flavor. I’m positive that apricot isn’t flavored like that. But then again, for RM 2.50 a pop, it’s safe to assure that artificial flavoring was used. Without a doubt, food coloring takes credit for the colors-much to my mum’s disapproval. I get what she meant, however-brightly colored food is somewhat alarming, but in the macarons’ case it’s softened somewhat by a simple and… docile appearance?

So, no macarons for me in a hurry, until I stumble upon more worthy macarons (of quality that is). I suppose for this, you really have to pay for a better gastronomic experience.

If anyone is wondering where this macaron stall is, it’s not far from the Isetan supermarket cashiers. And the Sun Moulin Bakery. You can’t miss it. Unless the stall has moved. But if you want to give it a shot, go ahead, and tell me if you feel the same way as I did. Hopefully not, though. I hope it’s just me.