Assassin's Creed -- Highlights and Review (12.28.16)

Of the movies I’ve watched this season, I wanted to highlight the tastefully done love story in “Assassin’s Creed”. There is little to be said about the story and the internal twists and turns revealed slowly to the audience, and the action was very much done well, according to me, but it’s the subtle and not over-done love story that I truly felt was worth noting.

**SPOILER ALERT!!**

The story follows the bloodline of the Assassin’s Creed member named Aguilar and his bloodline, down to Callum Lynch, played by Michael Fassbender. When left to fend for himself, Cal is imprisoned for murder and sentenced to death. Once he is dead to the world, Cal is taken to the Animus, where Sophie dives into his past to find the location of the Apple.

The love story I’m referring to is between Aguilar and Maria. Though it is ambiguous, the sweetness of their emotions while getting the job done is shown tastefully without long drawn-out scenes of passion and nudity. Fully clothed and running for their lives through an enemy city, they encounter group after group of soldiers continuously, and manage to just barely get away.

Without needing to say it, the action is on par with some of the best I've ever seen. The fast cuts, agility, and precision is commendable. Better than the Bourne series, above and beyond most of The Matrix and the like, this video game's action translated well onto the big screen. The story was a bit diluted, slow at some points, boring at others, but the dispersed action and MUSIC, yes, music did a lot in making the movie exciting.

Review Score:  B+ 

Fickle Friendship (02.17.16)

Friendship, I have found, is a very fickle thing. I’ve met strangers I could rely on more than friends of friends, which makes me wonder just how they think and operate. I’ve been burned so many times in friendship, I feel it is my job and duty to make others aware of just how aloof some can be when faced with the opportunity to help or ignore someone that is connected to them in some way. And for privacy purposes, I’ll not name names, but if they read this, I’m more than sure they’ll know who they are. And, again, this is a discovery post for me, about how I think completely differently than they do.

For those of you who don’t know me, just know this; I’ve never been in an intimate relationship, so all I’ve ever had were friends. So, I treasure these friends very much. I treat them like kings and queens because… they are all I have. And I believe in treating others the way you want to be treated. It doesn’t mean they have EVERY come close to how I treat them, but I still have hope that… maybe one day, SOMEONE will. However, having friends is special. Having none is lonely. Less painful, but also more quiet. So I choose to have friends. Maybe that’s where my thinking become so warped?

I recently learned that I treat strangers and non-direct friends better than I ought to. One example came from a recent hope of an adventure I had. I wanted to create a difficult custom designed cake that required baking knowledge and so, I asked a friend of my sibling’s for help. The person could do great things! I’ve witnessed it and eaten it before! This person agreed and then, after a few emails, this person just ignored me. I felt a bit hurt, brushed off by someone I thought I could trust, but then, I guess, this person was a relative stranger to me. If it weren’t for my sibling, then I wouldn’t know this person. Regardless of how close this person is to my sibling, that person obviously felt no connection to me.

So, it was my fault for putting so much hope in this person. I’d forgotten about how different of an person I am. For me, if a friend of my sibling asked for a favor, I would be gung-ho until the very end. I would offer up my services in every way, shape, and form, because they are friends with my sibling.

Another example comes from a wedding I once pulled out all the stops for. With a three camera set up during the service and two traveling cameras during all other times of the day, throughout the different events, I could have easily charged $1k for the whole shebang, even it being my first full wedding package. Instead, because the bride was one of my sibling’s best friends, I busted my butt from 6 Am until midnight, and was given a red envelope of $20 at the end. I was so speechless, I was so hurt, I was so humiliated, I didn’t know how to handle it except to swallow it.

Final example? A friend of mine moved recently and though I tried to help, I simply didn’t have the time. There was a miscommunication and that left a staleness in our friendship. I was confused because, when I see someone moving down the street, or what not, I usually offered to help if they needed it. Even in the Church I grew up in, we were taught to help others without complaint nor resentment. I’ve helped more people I didn’t know move than I care to remember. It was just the fact that I was fulfilling a need. That’s all.

I asked friends if my way of thinking was an American way of thinking and most of my Asian friends said yes, whereas my American friends simply told me I was just too nice. But… isn’t that how the Church raises the children to be? Have unconditional love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, and self-control?

So, this weekend,  I will venture into the cake making adventure on my own with a friend who is as ignorant as I am, and hope for the best. I can’t blame others for not helping me because they have no reason to. We think differently, therefore, the only hurt is me.

Is that right? Am I missing something?

So, please, for everyone who reads this… please be aware that some of your friends are as “too nice” as I am. If you don’t want to help them, TELL THEM DIRECTLY. Like me, I won’t know even if you ignore me because I will always give you the benefit of the doubt and think that you’ll get back to me as soon as you can. People like me… we get hurt much more often than you think, by people just like you. And yes, it’s our fault for being “too  nice”, but that’s the way we were raised. As much as I want to say no, if I CAN help… I always will. And when I get underappreciated or brushed off, I will believe that it’s my fault. And I will forgive you.

Because to me, everyone is a friend. Everyone who needs help should receive it. … Right? 

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!! 

Umbrellas + CoTangents = Podcasts Galore (12.22.15)

I HAVE STARTED A NEW PODCAST CALLED "UMBRELLA THOUGHTS"!! And, as predicted, we talk about EVERYTHING that is MOSTLY entertainment! This is different from the CoTangent because CoTangent has sports and some movie and box office talk. A way to sum up a week of nothings to make something.


EPISODE 42 for COTANGENT is up!! Check it out down here!! This is Ed + Me podcasting together!!


After listening to them, you get what I mean by they're different, right?? Well, here's to bringing some holiday cheer as the Christmas Merry gets ever near!!

God Bless you all and BE HAPPY!!!

SOOOOOOOOO THE DRAMAS!! (SPOILERS!!!)

*Out of respect for audiences of all ages and professions, I must warn you that there are SPOILERS in this post!!!*

I don’t watch TV.

Let me rephrase that. 

I don’t own a television, nor have I cable and such. So, I don’t watch TV. Any show I watch, I watch through online streaming sites. I’m not proud of this, but the fact that most shows can be found online, I really don’t NEED a television, know what I mean? By the way... For television standard purposes, I rate on a 1-10 star scale. So… here we go!

'THE BIG BANG THEORY' Season 09 Episode 01-02 Review (8 of 10 Stars)

I love this show. I’ve watched the first until the last episode recently aired and I still love this show. It’s not an on-and-off again thing for me, but a watch over-and-over again show. Whenever a new episode is up, I hunt for it online and watch it. Otherwise, I cycle through the entire series until I need something else to drone in my ears as I type and write and work on other projects.

First of all, Amy Farrah Fowler is awesome for breaking up with Sheldon Cooper! OMG! I want him to feel the need and realize the love he has for her and a break up might just do the trick! I do wonder how their relationship will change when they get back together but I guess we'll have to wait and see about that, eh?

Secondly, I wanted Leonard Hofstadter and Penny to be married in a chapel of sorts... I wanted their family to be there and hoped to see the rest of his amazing siblings and who they would cast for them!! Also, maybe bring their group of friends to Nebraska for the wedding!! That sounds like fun and I think Sheldon could just about piss EVERYONE off, or be quite at home seeing the parallel it is with East Texas... LOL!! We all know how caffeine and alcohol affects him... that could be quite fun!

Third, I wonder when Emily Sweeney and Rajesh Koothrappali will jump onto the more officially together band wagon or will Raj drift away because Emily and Penny don't like each other? Maybe instead of this, the writers will make Bernadette pregnant?! Holy COW, that would be something, eh??

Lastly, I wonder what will happen to Stuart Bloom?? Will he finally find someone to connect with? Will he marry and open a cafe in his comic book store? Maybe have an open mic area for interviews with Will Wheaton and, maybe even, Stan Lee?? I think that would be a cool idea, and I think Stuart deserves love. HAHAHAH!! I once wrote a spec script with such a storyline, I guess it never reached them. LOL. It's okay, if they accept me, they'll have to start accepting other Asians into the mix and... we all know TV doesn't feel like changing all that much.

I'm a bit annoyed because the Asian population keeps growing and yet... no worthwhile representation on television. All we have are random techie and nerdie roles on sci-fi shows, or "Fresh Off the Boat", which is neither complimenting nor encouragement. *sigh* Wish I could break that glass ceiling... I wish... wish... 

'QUANTICO' Season 01 Episode 01 Review (7 of 10 Stars)

It’s not as bad as I thought it would be. Very much with the feel of “Burn Notice” mixed with “How to Get Away With Murder”, this show is quite heavily influenced by “Alias” and “Buffy the Vampire Slayer” without the supernatural element. I was interested because of the trailer and because I was such an on-and-off again fan of “Alias”, but I found Alex Parrish so much more likeable and real than most of the doe-eyed strong young women in the shows up until now. Piyanka Chopra is strong, independent, honest, and quite a model citizen, just like Jennifer Garner in “Alias”. These two shows are quite similar, but the non-verbal “burn Notice” feel is also present.

Because this is a review, there will be SPOILERS!!! So, stop reading if you don’t want to hear about the spoilers.

The moment we “met” Alex, I liked her. She seemed so much a bad-butted female who took what she wanted and did as she pleased, all the while trying to do and say the right things. From lying to her mother about where she was going to the sexy encounter in the car with undercover Agent Ryan Booth,  to befriending Shelby Wyatt and comforting Eric Packer, the kid who shoots himself due to the instability of his own mind. (I TOLD YOU THERE WERE SPOILERS!!)

The scene I liked best was the interrogation/interview scene, when Nimah/Raina Amin questioned Simon Asher. The way she delivered it was so wonderful, the acting and blocking of the scenes was quite intense altogether. I enjoyed it and was pulled into the world much faster than I had thought I would be. The cutting, lighting, and overall tone of the episode was so attractive and well done from where I sat staring at the screen.

What I hated most from this first episode was when it was revealed that Agent Booth is on the other side that is framing Alex!! OMG!! NOO!!! I wish they held that information back a bit so that I would keep guessing about him. Somehow, from the trailer, I predicted that he would start on the odd end of things and then be turned onto her side. But to have it seem to be most likely to happen, I hated that it was revealed so soon. Why can’t they keep us guessing more? Oh, the sadness. And, thought I appreciate the jumping around of the editing because it keeps me on my toes, I DIDN’T like it too much because it made me dizzy to some degree.

Overall, I look forward to finding out about the nine months before the major explosion and about those who were involved in it. I have a sneaking suspicion that it might by Wyatt or the Amin sisters being blackmailed into such an act, but I guess I’ll just have to wait and see about how Joshua Safran writes and Marc Munden directs it.

It can only go up from here!!

***

Jumping back to my “The Intern” love, I actually really connected with Becky (Christina Scherer) because I’ve been there and done that. So, I tweeted her a question and she actually answered it! I was floored and so, I wanted to share it with all of you!!

I can't wait to see what movie she's in next!! She's so cute of an actor!!

HERE IS COTANGENT EPISODE 31