Friday 25 September 2015

Writing's On The Wall by Sam Smith


Hello readers,
After such a long time, a Bond song has finally been released with Sam Smith taking the spotlight. The song was definitely a moment for the singer and also for everyone who have been patiently waiting for song. Alright, I shall jumped straight to the short review.

As shown on the single cover, the song is titled Writing's On The Wall. Similar to Adele's Skyfall, the song continued the theme of James Bond's vulnerability. With all hope lost, Bond struggled to pick up himself and in Spectre, he would have to face something darker than previous installment. That is how Sam Smith expressed in Writing's On The Wall, being able to put himself into the 007's shoes. I can imagined how the opening of the film will looked like and if I can pictured the visuals clearly, that means the song was brilliantly done.

Unlike Sam's previous songs, this time he channelled a falsetto which take you to a world where you can see everything was torn and taken away. The orchestrated composition was indeed making me emotional, again capturing the theme of Bond's vulnerability. In my opinion, I did not expect Sam to come up with a song which could prove again that he is a great singer in the 21st Century.

With Writing's On The Wall being able to capture Spectre's 'spirit', Sam Smith is sure to get a nomination for Best Original Song at the Oscars. Well done, Sam!

Ratings: 10/10

P.S. Spectre will be released in cinemas worldwide (exclude United Kingdom which release date falls on October 26) on November 6, 2015.

Wednesday 23 September 2015

TV Series Review: Blindspot

THERE ARE SOME MINOR SPOILERS IN THE REVIEW.


Hello readers,
I just watched the pilot episode of this newest television series, Blindspot and here I am, going to write up a short review. The series tells a Jane Doe mysteriously appeared in Times Square with body filled with tattoos including an FBI agent's name.

Blindspot is a television series which got the characters to race against time, no matter what life or death. The pilot episode was perfectly filmed with suspense in the air and lots of secrets. To me, Jane Doe's life was revealed too quick in the episode. Jaimie Alexander (pictured) as Jane Doe somehow reminded me of Ruth Wilson in The Affair, despite both series have different genre. I liked how the pilot episode was filmed in New York, to the extent as a Singaporean myself, I seldom come across a series which decided to focus on Statue of Liberty, an iconic landmark.

Although the series has an "unknown person may be a secret agent or someone important" cliché, I indeed got myself hooked onto the episode, trying to figure out what would happened next, next and next. Truly, I think this series was incredible and I would not mind continue watching it. If you haven't watched the pilot episode, I suggest to go check Blindspot out and have a feel for yourself.

Ratings: 8/10

P.S. Funny how Jane Doe was able to read and speak Mandarin Chinese/Cantonese. At one point, she would converse in Mandarin Chinese and then Cantonese. Jane Doe sure makes a good asset to FBI. :)

Friday 11 September 2015

Past, Present and Future

Hello readers,
Today is the September 11 and in my country, Singapore, it is a Polling Day for people who are 21 years old and above. I know September 11 is a tragic day for some people in another part of the world when lives were lost to an attack which shocked everyone and has since helped every airport to tighten its security. Indeed, my condolences goes out to these people's loved ones who are missing them everyday.

In a meantime, back to Polling Day, I am proud of how far Singapore came over the 50 years. From a small fishing village to a metropolitan city, Singapore has been experiencing the success which credited to each and every Singaporean's hard work. Whether you are a white collar or a blue collar worker, it is amazing that our country has such a strong bond and sense of belonging such as every year on August 9, we celebrate her birthday through putting up a parade and singing National Day songs. Recently, Singapore celebrated SG50 special parade at the Padang and The Float @ Marina Bay with vintage performances like 1968 rainbow-ish peformers and the first National Service force marching.

I am excited about the Polling Day and so does my family members. We seen all the political parties' beliefs and what they would do if they were elected into the Parliament. I am only 17 and thus sadly, I of course not able to vote but to only support and read every social media feeds to know the outcome. Some people who know me personally or followed my social media accounts would know which party I strongly support. To me, I indeed want a Governmenf who can be efficient and able to maintained Singapore's peace and prosperity. So far I strongly believe my country is in good hands and sadly to say, not everyone has the same view.

There were times where I strongly disagree with the political parties' beliefs and what they could do for the country. I realised most of the political parties have lots to say about the Government. They are not happy with some policies and in their own speeches, they announced to the people in the rally about their plans. People would indeed listened and cheered with joy whenever they said about a particular policy. To be honest, these political parties may be charismatic and sounded 'awesome' when proposing policies. However, I fear those proposed policies are just short term and not long term because they do not see further down the line. Proposing a policy is a serious commitment and not just say for the sake of getting a confirmed vote from people. Furthermore, I hope these political parties thought about what they said and reflect whether will Singapore's outcome be what they set out to achieve. Being in a charge of a country is like playing with house of cards.

People may say a 17 years old person would not understand politics since the age is considered young. If they want to say that, then let it be. Hopefully, when I reached 21 years old (or maybe more than 21 since election is sometimes held every four to five years), I will be able to cast a vote and see Singapore continue prospering like right now.

P.S. I enjoyed listening to the speeches made by the two ministers on September 9. They were able to explained about the policies made very firmed and clear. Not to forget, reflect and think before casting a vote at the Polling Center. This post is written from my own perspective and has no intention of harming anyone.

Friday 4 September 2015

Movie Review: The Man From U.N.C.L.E


Hello readers,
I will be writing out a review on the film version of The Man From U.N.C.L.E. The film starred Henry Cavill, Armie Hammer, Alicia Vikander, Elizabeth Debicki and Hugh Grant in the Cold War background when both CIA and KGB have to worked together to take down the villain for her crazy nuclear bomb plan. If you are wondering what U.N.C.L.E stands for, it represents United Network Command Law and Enforcement.

The Man From U.N.C.L.E is unlike the television series, here the film acted as a prequel to the aformation of U.N.C.L.E. At the beginning of the film, we see Napoleon Solo (Henry Cavill) in Germany taking on his own mission while being followed by a Russian. He went to a car garage place to find Gaby Teller, whose father disappeared for 18 years without a trace. Here, the action began when Teller was seen driving out of the garage and the Russian followed. With all the clean cut car chasing and playing of language, we followed Solo who on the next day met up with his boss and all the tension started when he recognised the Russian (later known as Ilya Kuryakin).

I shall stop the plot down here, but I did enjoyed the scenes between Napoleon Solo and Ilya Kuryakin. Indeed, they kept challenging and tried to outsmart each other with what they know. Both the actors who played the characters have great chemistry as they knew what one was going to do. On the other hand, Gaby Teller was alright. In fact, Teller was never in the original television series and her addition was actually a smart plot device from the beginning to the end. Elizabeth Debicki as the antagonist, Victoria never fails to impressed me since I last saw her in The Great Gatsby as Jordan Baker.

In my opinion, The Man From U.N.C.L.E did lived up to the original television series. Henry Cavill as Napoleon Solo and Armie Hammer as Ilya Kuryakin were perfect in the roles given and I could not help but to fell in love with both. The music used in the film were my jam and fitted the film again perfectly. A word to described the film: Fantastic.

If you are an original fan of the television series or just looking for another spy film, I recommend you to really watch this Man From U.N.C.L.E. However, if you are really expecting a film like Kingsman: The Secret Service, well don't bother looking for any blood violence. Like what a critic said, "More dashing than Bond".

Ratings: 8/10

Thursday 3 September 2015

Funny

THERE ARE SOME VULGARS IN THIS POST, SO DO READ WITH CAUTION.


Hello readers,
I thought I just take this moment to write a post regarding about what has happened for the past weeks or years. I decided to use this opportunity to come out, what I felt and what have I done. The quote does justify every actions as an individual.

In school, I learned that humans at times are selfish. They only used you when they have something that you have. Friends are friends. They are just there for you for power and control. I happened to feel like an outsider because I was not similar like them. I am not as outspoken as any girls in my class. I am not as cool as the bunch of cliques that frequently make themselves known. All they see me is that I am just like the nerds in the movies, always studying and have no social life. It pains me to say this but I am just like any humans out there. I have a life where my iPad and movies are always there everyday. Books and studies aren't the sugar to my English Breakfast Tea.

This afternoon, I entered the washroom to changed into my PE t-shirt and shorts. After coming out, there was a clique trying to be fabulous. I was such a fucking fool, they were making a fucking joke out of me. This was not the cause of my frustration, but the trigger was when this girl had the gut to say, "Hmm...If you think you're one of the pusses." Okay, that girl said hello to me and just happened when I replied, she said hello bitches. The word, pussy, some may think it is just a way of saying someone is timid or frightened. I do not know what is the purpose of her saying that joke to me. What I do know is that pussy is a slang to insult a woman and also a way of saying a woman is a sex object. Another interpretation is as simple as saying the cat.

I was disgusted by the joke the girl mentioned, specially when she is a female. Worst of all, she patted on my right shoulder when she said the joke. Had I got another chance of this situation, I could swear I wish smacking her head or better still, calling her a fucking pussy. I walked out of the washroom and yup, I let the clique had their victory. Isn't it fun to call someone a pussy? Well, to be completely honest, even when one really dislike me, no one uses that word. I rather someone call me a bitch than pussy. Hopefully, may karma come and attack that precious.

No matter how much I talked or helped a person, well... I did not really have a chance to get any favour back from him or her. I learnt that I should not be too opened and shall continue adapting a selfish, "watching people dying" attitude. My kindness is in fact being used as a way to make a joke out of it. From today onwards, I will ensure I fight my way up and gain the throne in the finishing line. I want to see the day where people have to bowed down and I will walked up to my throne like a character from Game of Thrones. You see, I am willing to take any steps to achieve my goal. When I do, I will make sure people know who is the fucking pussy right now...


P.S. I made this post with no intention of promoting feminism. I claimed that I am not a feminist and everything I wrote here was a way to get into people's head. Whether the joke was just for a laugh or an indirect insult, that was way too much for person who does not know me well or rarely talk to me. If you have any problem or issue with me, please feel free to Whatsapp or message me privately. I am happy to discuss with you. You want to know the real truth or feelings, please do the same.