Valentine's Day Weekend + Single's Awareness Day (02.16.16)

I wanted to write sooner about this weekend, but something felt strange about it because Monday was a holiday and so, that technically meant that the weekend wasn’t over, right? Well, I had to work Monday, so, for me, the weekend was over. But for those of you who had it off, good job. I’m happy for you! You lucky duckies!

Friday found me working hard on a manuscript and putting together materials for my voice actor. I’m working hard on ‘Motivational Marley’ because… well, once you see it, you’ll see why. I mean, HE’S ADORABLE!! I’ve never felt so much motivation when it came to editing before I edited his materials together! He’s wonderful, amazing, and very comforting. I can’t wait to share him with the world, with ALL OF YOU!! (^v^)

Anyhoo, a new friend from Japan via Montana arrived Friday night to hang out with her friend of near 15 years… Lots of drama ensued, which made me re-evaluate my friendship with said person because… I’m the type of person who can be mistreated by friends for years and never say anything about it for fear of troubling the friend. Having friends, at all, to me, is a blessing. Partially because most of the friends I grew up with are no longer in contact with me, and also because I’ve NEVER had a boyfriend, so all I’ve ever had were friends. So, in the past years, I’ve worked hard to leave a BIG community of friends for the smaller more intimate group of besties that I always see. The friend who kinda messed up this weekend was on her way to being one for me, but because of her own selfishness, she removed herself from that position, minimizing our relationship to a more professional and distant one. So, all I can do is accept it, you know? … So much drama. Glad it’s over.

I WATCHED “DEADPOOL” SATURDAY MORNING!! I love watching movies in movie theaters!! In those soft chairs filled with body odors and farts, drinking water or a fattening beverage, eating butter-drenched popcorn because I couldn’t tell how much I was squeezing in… NOTHING beats such an intimate act!! And I LOVE watching previews!! They give me something to look forward to. Something to yearn for. Something to pre-laugh at, so that my during-movie sounds are appropriate. The main friends I watch movies with are in my group of besties. To date, I’ve watched the most movies with Moon. She’s the reason I have a Stubs card at all! Second comes Ed, of course! Third is Chris, and Sarah is between first and second. Hehe! If that makes any sense… JJ and I haven’t seem movies together, but we talk about them a lot! We’ve also collaborated on ideas for some… soon to have more info on that!

Personally, it was more blood than I cared for. The character Wade Wilson was funny and some of the shots on him were truly extravagant. Like when they found out he had terminal cancer, the way he watched Vanessa handle as he zoned out was a BEAUTIFUL shot Chris and I loved. The sense of humor wasn’t EXACTLY what I enjoyed most, but I did enjoy it, nonetheless. There was a lot more killing than I expected, a bit more graphic than I thought it would be, but I liked the action, enjoyed the shots, LOVED the opening credits, and found the film quite downright clean for a Rated R feature. I can’t wait to see if the next film stays true to who Vanessa is from the comics! A definite B+ rating from me! Yum! I didn’t need popcorn or a drink during it! And though I watched it in the morning, my friends and I were surprised that the theater was more than half full! The entire upper area was filled. Our group of seven (Moon +2, Ed, Chris +1, and me) sat together in the front section back row. Still quite enjoyable! And I’d see it again. Yes!

After the movie came KBBQ at Moon #3! They actually serve milk teas and boba now, which was strange but yummy! And they have just started serving sushi!! I know!! They’re really branching out. For reals!! After the late lunch, everyone split, and Moon took her two friends away. Ed, Chris, and I also split up and let the evening pass rather uneventfully. Wait, no, that’s not true. Sarah joined us for lunch but she had things to do. Ed also went home and later hung with another friend. Chris and I bought 5 boxes of baking mix and headed over to visit the friend from Montana. We baked 1 batch of large chocolate chip cookies, 1 batch of lemon cookies, 1 loaf of blueberry bread, 1 loaf of mixed confetti bread, and 1 loaf of devil’s sinful chocolate cake. YUMMM!! We chatted, baked, and chatted a LOT. For those of you who don’t know, Chris is featured on Umbrella Thoughts! We always talk about more intellectual topics and can’t really help ranting and raving about our opinions and their relevancy in the society we live in. Close to midnight, we headed out and to bed! Yay!

Valentine’s Day came and I woke up late. In the morning, the friend from Montana was hurt and sad so she came to spend the day with me. Yay! And then she took a nap until close to 3 pm, so I simply contacted my lonely birds and we planned an early dinner at Black Angus! It was Sarah, Ed, Chris, my Montana friend and me. The talked, laughed, and ate together. And at the end of the meal, there were long lines, so we were all thankful we’d gone early! We had dessert at Menchies in Burbank. Moon +2 were busy, but se la vi! We hung at my place after but Sarah had to leave! And then my roommate returned, hailing the end of our hang out. But I had to wait for Marley’s mom to pick up the Montana friend. And when everyone was gone… it got quiet.

Quite the weekend if you ask me. I watched and then re-watched Sophina Dejesus’s floor routine a few times, skimmed through youtube videos, and, aside from the drama, it was fun and not as lonely. I could only imagine what Chris Pine did. I did unfold him a few times this weekend, the human life-sized cardboard cutout of him, that is. LOL. It’s getting closer to MARCH!! I love that month because I will be heading to Taiwan to do all this… blog and record videos… and, hopefully, blog!! So… LOOK FOR ME!

Final Comments… I really hope “Dragon Lady” gets picked up even if the networks end up changing the title. I’m pretty okay with it!! It’s the story I want to tell. When the title comes, it’ll stick! Yay! WE NEED DIVERSITY!!

Hope your weekends were greater than mine!! 

Fantastic Mission 4 Impossible... eh? (Contains Spoilers!!!)

So, 'Mission Impossible 5: Rogue Nation' wasn't all it was cracked up to be, was it? Because I saw it with an action enthusiast, as it was exciting for me. But when I take a look at the story and overall arcs  there was just so much that caused me to all away from the story. And though some of you would scold me and say, "That's what the 'Mission Impossible' franchise is all about!" ... I couldn't agree more. 

It goes without saying, I enjoyed the character conflict within the story but I just wanted more of a clash and mystery. The moment we meet Ilsa Faust (Rebecca Ferguson), we’re on the path of trusting her while not trusting her. Why does she have to cross the line so early on in the film? Why can’t she stay on evil’s side until the very last moment? We can hate her badly and then put things together to reveal how she helps in the future after a series of unfortunate events, as it goes in every Bond film, right?

I loved the role Benji Dunn (Simon Pegg) played in this film. As the comedic relief, he was great to watch, listen to, entertaining, and quite the ultimate supporter of the story. Not only did he only ask to be a bigger part of the story time and time again, but he also had a huge part towards the end and came out alive and well (SPOILER!!). Jeremy Renner returned as William Brandt, and played both sides, as expected. With the addition of Ving Rhames as Luther Stickell, the team returned at full steam ahead, not even allowing the CIA to take them down, much less the enemies. 

Of all the scenes in the action-ish movie, I do admit that the motorcycle and automobile chase was of the more exciting variation. From the beginning, when we knew Ilsa was in trouble down to the end, when she managed to get away from Ethan Hunt (Tom Cruise), it was a personal connection that crashed into him and the way the end of the movie came about just tied up so many loose ends that, somehow, made you wonder... why IMF was always getting into so much trouble?! They should just hire Jason Bourne and get it over with.

Overall, I give it ★★ of 4 ★s. 

Right then... Now, onto the fantabulous 'Fantastic 4'... Let me just start with: OMG. 

I thought I would look forward to the story and… I didn’t. I thought I would enjoy the action and… I was disappointed. I hoped for a sweet romantic B-Story line and that, also, failed. Some sexual tension would have been great between ANYONE, and yet, NO ONE had it. Every character was very mainstream and that annoyed the heck out of me because no one in this world is THAT mainstream! I couldn’t relate to any of them, I didn’t covet any of their abilities, and I feel that this re-imagining of the story sucked beyond comparison.

This is not to say that each individual actor isn’t talented. I think apart in their own elements, they are quite amazing and give great performances, but together, their chemistry felt off and strange. The guys had their awkwardnesses and I understood that, but of all the characters, Kate Mara felt the most off and strange. I feel like Mila Kunis or Jenna Dewan-Tatum would have been a better choice. Or, perhaps, even Emma Watson or Emma Roberts. The choice of Mara not only threw me off, but also pulled me out of the film. Too much seemed to distract and there was no clarity in terms of who she liked more and why did all the guys seem to like her? It's just so strange to me. I uch prefer the traditional franchise and the story format it employed. 

Most importantly, the highs in the story were too low and the lows were too high. There was no overly joyous moments in the film and there were no down-right depressing parts in this film. Everything remained on the same stream of consciousness  never once going out of the middle emotion of the film. This annoyed me to no end, and in the end, I could have been asleep and it wouldn't have mattered because I came away with nothing. 

So, just for sanity's sake... I give it ★ OF 4 ★S. 

Finally... Onto a film that I am looking forward to seeing!! 'THE MAN FROM U.N.C.L.E.' !!!! I WANT TO SEE THIS FILM. 

Not only did I enjoy the oldies like 'The Avengers' and 'Get Smart', I am still waiting to see 'Kingsman: The Secret Service' but am very much looking forward to seeing Henry Cavill and Armie Hammer in such deliciously sarcastic roles. I am looking forward to the action and storytelling because it's created by the same who created epic films like 'Sherlock Holmes' and 'Snatch'! OMG! I am so excited!! Can you see how excited I am?

Moreover, I want to see this film with a certain friend. That is to say, I have a friend who used to choreograph with me, is a lawyer, and grew up in the anime culture, and I feel like he would adore this film. I invited him and he has agreed, so all that remains is to organize our time to make it happen but I am very excited about it! No, this is not a date. But he is an old friend of mine and very much the type of person who would enjoy this. So, if this film does fail to meet my expectations, at least his reactions will keep me entertained. 

On the other end of the spectrum, the Big Bang concert approaches and I am getting excited about that! Did I mention that I live in Los Angeles and am going both nights they are in town? The first evening, Oct. 2nd, I will go with the friend who I went to the KCon concert night #2 with. It will, again, be at the Staple Center and our tickets are quite good. The second evening will be at the Honda Center in Anaheim. I'm going with my older sister and we are looking forward to it!! I wonder if it will change from night to night. Perhaps not. But so very excited nonetheless!!

And waaaaay, on the other edge of the spectrum, I am starting a new series for youtube and working with two very good friends. Float 2 should be coming soon, too, so look forward to that!! Styelle_M and I are working together again on writing and creating, so look forward to some of that coming out... 

And I've recently recorded my own solo podcast! That was something new and exciting!! I'm getting ready for #2, and well, it's our 25th episode, so LOOK FOR ME!!! Hahaha!! Still, CoTangent Episode #24 is up!! So please check it out!!

Finally... this is all for me... For now... Until next time!! Keep cool and happy!!!

Twitter: @tiffrz