Drama review: 回到三国 Three Kingdoms RPG

How is everyone doing for this week and did you enjoyed Christmas? Recently, I just finished watching a TVB series, 回到三国 (Three Kingdoms RPG). The series starred Kenneth Ma, Raymond Lam and Tavia Yeung.

As you can tell from the title, you will know that this series is related to The Three Kingdoms, however there is a modern twist. Kenneth Ma played as Szema Shun/Ma Shun, an ordinary guy who was good in gaming and was a fan of Three Kingdoms RPG, especially Chugot Leung (Raymond Lam). One day, a strong typhoon headed for Hong Kong and Szema Shun was sent to the period of Three Kingdoms. During his stay in Three Kingdoms period, he met prominent figures and even worked with them.

As you first watched the series, you may find yourself catching up everyday until the last episode which was poorly written because whoever wrote the ending wanted to be fast and convenient to end the story. The ending was meant to be sad, however the lines for Szema Shun ruined the scene that I kept laughing the whole time. The series did not really followed up closely to the real history and because of that, some of the prominent figures looked stupid sometimes. One thing that kept the series going was Kenneth's comedic acting and the use of modern speech, therefore making the plot a memorable one.

To end off, this series is not recommended for people who are keen to find out the real history of Three Kingdoms but for entertainment and laughter then it is recommended.

Rating: 3.5/5

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The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar

Just read my Literature book, The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar which is filled with mini stories including the stated title. I only read the titled story because it was part of my Literature homework for the school holidays and here is what I think:

Before I started reading the story, I thought it was a boring one of a guy named Henry Sugar who is interested in casinos and money, judging from the book cover (the cover I placed here was from Wikipedia which is not the one I got.) Once I started reading, I was hooked on to the story that I wanted more from it.

Henry is a good example to others who envy rich and wealthy people because these people do have their own problem like ordinary ones. He has no particular interest until he discovered a notebook written by Dr. John Cartwright in 1934 where he recorded his account on a yogi who was able to see things without opening his eyes and has the ability to concentrate on a certain object.

What makes this story interesting was that the person who wrote the "story" was a persona (I know Roald Dahl is the author of the book but it was the persona who was hired by Henry's companions to write this story out). Also, this story was written in a way that we are actually reading it as a biography. Overall the language and writing style was splendid and I can imagined the scenes of each words.

Rating: 8.9/10

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Five Stars! How To Be A Film Critic, The World's Greatest Job

Yesterday, my aunt sent me a gift on Amazon.com and I redeemed it. Turned out she sent me this interesting guidebook, Five Stars! How To Be A Film Critic, The World's Greatest Job. This guidebook contained useful informations for people who wants to start off the career of Film Critic and was written by Christopher Null, a veteran film critic.

What I like about this book is that it taught me about film history (which I did not know), how to write a professional review and different methods of acting. This book includes how to get into every movies for free and various roles in filmmaking and production.

Overall I find this book is a useful guide and by the way, I am reading it through Kindle Cloud Reader online. If you want to achieved as a professional, successful film reviewer/film critic, then do grab a copy of Five Stars! How To Be A Film Critic, The World's Greatest Job. The book costs $9.99 for Kindle Edition and $19.99 for Paperback Edition on Amazon (link here). I believed this guide will helped you in achieving your dreams and also, NOTHING IS IMPOSSIBLE.

P.S. This book is not available in Singapore.

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Movie review: A Night Of The Life Of Jimmy Reardon

Yesterday, I went on YouTube to watched A Night Of The Life Of Jimmy Reardon. It was released in February 1988 and it was also known as Aren't You Gonna Kiss Me A Goodbye. The film starred the late River Phoenix who was known for acting in Stand By Me.

A Night Of The Life Of Jimmy Reardon is a film about a boy named Jimmy, a high school graduate who was torn between whether should he go to the business school that his father attended or go his own way getting a full time job. Jimmy is a rebellious boy at the start, he was lost and confused. I pitted him when his girlfriend, Lisa "dumped" him for another boy who was rich. River portrayed this character, Jimmy very well and if he was alive, he would have many opportunities and be at the same rank as Leonardo DiCaprio.

This film is very emotional and at the same time, it was well written. But one thing I disliked is that Jimmy has been getting trouble with girls and I believed that the girls were getting in the way all the time. There were too many sex scenes which I felt it was long winded that I skipped it in order to get to the main point of the story. The relationship between Jimmy and his father was great and I love the moment when they sat in the train, having "father and son" talk which led to happy ending.

After watching this film, the message behind the film was that sometimes we must understand why this person wants you to do "this and that" and also communication is the key to happy relationship. Also, a boy like Jimmy should not wasted his time on his girlfriend (Lisa) by becoming her servant because the girl would not treasured it. There are other girls who are better than her. Besides girlfriend, Jimmy's friends are very helpful too, especially the girl (I can't remember her name) who saved him by saying he was her "fiancé".

If you want to watched wild boy and girls, then A Night Of The Life Of Jimmy Reardon is recommended.

Rating: 7.3/10

P.S First time using my iPad Mini to write a post.

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Movie review: Dark Knight Rises

Today I will be writing a movie review on an epic conclusion of the famous superhero, Dark Knight Rises. The film starred Christian Bale, Michael Caine, Gary Oldman, Anna Hathaway, Tom Hardy, Marion Cotillard, Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Morgan Freeman.

The story was about after eight years, a terrorist leader, Bane (Tom Hardy) wants to destroy Gotham City and Batman/Bruce Wayne (Christian Bale) has come out from his retirement to save the city, alongside with Catwoman/Selina Kyle (Anna Hathaway) and others.

Again, Christopher Nolan's directing style is super amazing. Some of his techniques used in Inception were in the film, for example such as when the plane was invaded at the start. I am pleased with the casting, especially the Catwoman and Miranda Tate/Talia Al Ghul (Marion Cotillard). Marion has demonstrated well as a "villain", Mal in Inception and therefore, she was great in the film. The plot was interesting because it has a "twist and turn" effect that leads you to suspense and a shock.

Although there were not many jokes, I believed that the film was indeed fine without it. The film's ending left me wondering did Bruce Wayne died or not since Alfred went to the same cafe which appears at the front and saw him with Selina Kyle. Amazing thing was that at the end, John Blake (Joseph Gordon-Levitt)'s real name was actually the name of a young superhero.

I recommend you, people to watched Batman Begin and The Dark Knight first because they are linked to this film and it is considered a "complete set". :)

Rating: 9.6/10

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Movie review: Rise Of The Guardians

Finally, a movie review to write and this time, I will be talking about Rise Of The Guardians which starred and voiced by Chris Pine, Hugh Jackson, Jude Law, Alec Baldwin and Isla Fisher.

The movie is about an evil spirit called Pitch/Bogeyman (Jude Law) who wants to take over the world and the Guardians must join forces for the first time to protect the hopes, beliefs and imagination of the children all around the world. The Guardians included Jack Frost (Chris Pine), North/Santa Claus (Alec Baldwin), Easter Bunny (Hugh Jackson), Tooth "Fairy" (Isla Fisher) and Sandman who uses images to communicate with others.

What I love about this movie is that it has a realistic animation which of course Dreamwork is good in that. The script is of course funny due to the way the characters speak and there were lots of funny jokes which can make audiences laughed. The movie basically used our childhood imagination to bring joy to everyone and I did not expected Jack Frost to turned out like that because I was used to Rainbow Magic's Jack Frost. The movie does teaches us many things, for example, when you are afraid, just take it as something fun to tackle with and also teaches us to always believe.

Anyway, this movie is a definitely must to watch and if you have a child, it is also the best option to take him/her to watch this epic movie. :D Also, you will enjoy it too! RECOMMENDED. ;)

Rating: 4.8/5

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Holidays

Hi everyone, today's post will not be regarding to films or music videos. As the title stated, I will be talking about holidays, school holidays. :)

I have been on taking a break from school for nearly a month now and for the whole week, I have been practicing my instrument for the upcoming school event called, Spectrum. This will be the seventh time the school have been putting out this event (the theme for this year is Carnival) and also this event will be mostly performed by Performing Arts group. I am from Chinese Orchestra under the Woodwind section.

Spectrum will be held in University Cultural Centre which is located in National University of Singapore (NUS) on November 27, 2012. I am not sure what time this event will start but it will probably start around 7pm or 7.30pm. The seats are all sold out, according to the person in–charge of Chinese Orchestra. My CCA will performed songs included 那些年 (You Are The Apple Of My Eye), a theme song for the film with the same title and Best of Bruno Mars 2011.

Besides the school event, I have holiday homework and I have completed most of it except with Maths. Well, that is all I have for you guys today!

P.S. My family have already placed out our Christmas tree for the Christmas spirit and have you?

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Movie review: Inception

Back with a new post and to be honest with you guys, I watched this film last week and I was lazy to post about it. I was supposed to watch In Time, however I got bored because of the continuous "running and hiding" which makes it boring that I switched to Inception.

Plot — Dom Cobb, a thief who commits corporate espionage by infiltrating the subconscious of his targets. He is offered a chance to regain his old life as payment for a task considered to be impossible: "inception", the implantation of another person's idea into a target's subconscious.

I love the story, though sometimes I got confused because of the twisting plot which the director, Christopher Nolan is good at. The cast gave a great job for making the film overall perfect. My favourite scene was where the cast went to different levels in the dream and at the second level, Arthur was fighting the invaders, I guess. While fighting, the level went on zero gravity and I love the fighting stunts.

This film is absolutely recommended for people who love thriller/horror films and according to Wikipedia, Inception was inspired by lucid dreaming. Lucid dreaming is where one "is aware that one is dreaming" and in a lucid dream, he/she may be able to exert some degree of control over their participation within the dream or be able to manipulate their imaginary experiences in the dream environment.

But there is a problem when I was watching this film, I can't really see the colours used in it due to the light setting.

From my scale of 1 to 5, I will give this film, 4.7/5.

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TV series review: Nikita (2010)

Recently, I watched this thrilling, action TV series, "Nikita". Starring Maggie Q, Shane West (actor who acted in "A Walk To Remember") and Lyndsy Fonseca (actress who acted in "The Young And The Restless"), this series made me want to continue and watch until the only Season in Singapore which is No. 2. :)

This series is about Nikita, a former assassin for the organization called Division who escaped and after three years of hiding, she wanted to bring down the organization. What I love about this series is that Maggie Q has the tough and cool, pretty look which makes her hold the show and yes, I have to say that the casting agent did his or her job well in finding suitable actors for the given roles.

Whoever is sick of bitches in series, movies or whatever, I recommend this series to you guys. :D

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Movie review: Skyfall

Finally, I went to watched "Skyfall" this afternoon and I have to give this film a big round of applause. I love it! *press the red button* (I am following what the Voice judges do).

Why did I said "Skyfall" was a good film? Firstly, it has an entertaining plot and this story is "like the buildings are crumbling". Secondly, British jokes are heavy due to the way the characters speak with their accent but it is still funny anyway. Thirdly, Daniel Craig's acting performance was very very outstanding and the Bond girl who goes by the name of Sévérine reminded me as a femme fatale like Veronica Lake. :)

Honestly, the film did used back the famous James Bond theme music and the feel, especially the opening credits. So this film is recommended for 007 fans, audiences who watched 007 films from the start, Daniel Craig fans and others. I pitted some stuff, the agents and the Bond girl in the film actually. The climax is almost ending part to be precise but it is actually everywhere which made me feel high always.

Basic plot on "Skyfall":

"Bond's loyalty to M is tested as her past come back to haunts her. As MI6 is come under attack, 007 must track down and the threat, no matter how personal the cost."

That is all I have, hope my entry did helped you! :D

P.S. This will be Judi Dench's last Bond film.

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Entry #6

Apologize for not blogging and I shall post a photo which explained everything I wanted to write.

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Post-Exam Activities

I would not be writing on movies or reviewing on videos today but I will be writing on my upcoming post-exam activities.

Tomorrow, I am going to try out Ukelele which is my first time. :) Will also be having an activity at the computer lab and the good thing is that school will end at 12.30pm. However, I have to stay back at 2pm for Student Council meeting.

Alright I will stop here and continue watching "The Voices".

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Entry #3: "DNA" by Little Mix

Little Mix does make me feel their veins and of course, I do love hearing this song! :D The music video reminds me of the film, "Psycho". I mean the girls were going after a guy whose name was called Ryan as of the photo pasted on the wall. The opening scene was really amazing with "blood" everywhere! :D

Besides all these, the girls have powerful vocals when they sang the high pitch which made me feel high and the great chorus. The part where Leigh-Anne sang with that technology voice was my favourite.

Alright, do enjoy the video below!

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Behind the name of Devil In The Skull

How did I get my pen name, Devil In The Skull? Perhaps some of you might be interested. :)

I got the name after I was thinking of a new blog name and then I saw this small soft toy which I got it after purchasing cute shirts from Midooree (ミドレ). I remembered this toy was only given if you liked their Facebook page and also purchased their wonderful shirts. I am not sure whether Midooree is still having this "promotion".

I hope you guys will find this toy interesting. Besides this toy, you can choose other toys too! :D

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Entry #1: Films I am looking forward

It is normal for people to watch television or watch latest movies at the cinema. Today, I am going to share some of the upcoming movies I am looking forward to (not in order).

- Percy Jackson & The Olympians: Sea of Monsters (2013)

The moment I first watched the first film of Percy Jackson series, "The Lightning Thief", I loved it! Greek gods, special kids with abilities from one of their parents and the story plot made me have an interest in the film series. I read "Sea of Monsters" back in late 2010 and I can still remember what was the story plot.

Since there is no trailer for the film yet, the filming took place this year and is set for the release in August next year.

- The Perks of Being A Wallflower (2012)

I read the novel last year after I heard Logan Lerman was going to be part of the film. The novel somehow was related to me indeed, Charlie didn't have many friends at first and his only best friend committed sucide right before Chapter 1 started in the novel. He was a wallflower.

Currently, the film is still in cinema (Singapore) after its release on October 11, 2012 which I will be watching tomorrow or maybe next week.

- Skyfall (2012)

It has been four years since the last James Bond's film, "Quantum of Solace" was released and I'm excited about this "Skyfall". The trailer impressed me and also this month, the theme song of the same title by Adele made me even impressed with the upcoming film.

The film will be releases next month.

- Hitchcock (2012)

Most of you will know who is this person once you see the last name. Alfred Hitchcock, the man who was famous for suspense and thriller. The film will concentrate mostly about this relationship between Alfred and his wife, Alma and also the filming of "Psycho".

The film will be releases on November 23, 2012.

That is all I have today and I apologize for the short post. Though I mentioned these films, that does not mean I am not looking forward to other films. I am of course, just that these films mentioned are now in my top list.

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