BLOG -- Recap of January

I think it will be a given now that every month will be kind of hectic and busy in its own way. January was a super-cold month for me. Except for two hangouts, I was completely out of commission outside of going to work and going home. On the plus side, I did get to play a lot of online multiplayer of Call of Duty: Ghosts with my sister and a co-worker buddy.

By the way, Happy Lunar New Year! Depending on how the weekend goes, I may or may not do my weekly blog on Sunday.

Outings/Events in January:

- Celebrated a team-mate's birthday.

- Stayed over at my sister's place.

- Hung out with friends x2.

Exposures:

- (restaurant) Philthy McNasty's -- This place was okay. Nothing special.

- (restaurant) The Apricot Tree Cafe

- (beer) Apricot Beer -- The first swig was bitter! It tasted just like any other kind of beer. A couple more sips and the apricot taste came through. Then it was yummy.

Finished...

Watching:

- (Anime): Vampire Princess Miyu -- This series doesn't care about happy endings or making you feel good or fuzzy or anything like it -- it's all about destiny and whatever happens from that, happens. I know this is a pretty old series, but I find that uncaring attitude really refreshing. I hate the last couple of episodes, though.

- (Anime): Polyphonica -- I like the idea of this world very much. But then again, I tend to like music in many forms.

- (Anime): Dusk Maiden of Amnesia -- Loved it. I'm going to review it someday!

- (Anime): Air: TV Series -- I think was too hyped up about the visual novel's greatness. While I found many aspects of it relatable and I really enjoyed the old storyline, it was a big letdown.

- (Anime Movie): The Garden of Words -- I have watched almost all of Makoto Shinkai's works to date (have not watched Children who Chase Lost Voices). I think this latest one is Shinkai's strongest piece. The animation and backgrounds are so beautiful, and the message behind it is really relatable. I can definitely relate.

- (Anime OVA): Black Lagoon: Roberta's Blood Trail -- It was okay. I'm glad to see some questions from the first series answered here, but I don't know. I don't think this story was all that necessary. This seems like it was made just for the *cough*guy*cough* fans.

- (Anime OVA): Air in Summer -- It was okay.

Playing:

- (PS2): Shadow Hearts -- Finally! I knew I only had about two more hours to beating this game. I just kept getting sidetracked. I don't know if I would ever replay it, but it was an enjoyable experience.

- (PS4): Call of Duty: Ghosts -- Even though I'm still playing it, I'm going to consider it beaten since I prestiged one of my squad members.

Reading:

- Nothing this month.

Currently... 

Playing (not all at once):

- (PS4): Resogun 
- (PS3): Borderlands 2 
- (DS): Legacy of Ys: Book I & II 
- (3DS): Shin Megami Tensei IV
- (3DS): Mario's Picross 
- (PSP): Persona 
- (PSP): Crush
- (Wii): Fortune Street 
- (PS2): Atelier Iris 2
- (PC): UnEpic  
- (PC): King's Bounty: The Legend

Watching:

- (TV Show): The Walking Dead (Season 3) 
- (Anime): Yu Yu Hakusho (don't remember)
- (Anime): Shakugan no Shana (don't remember)
- (Anime): Dragon Ball (Season 3 -- Episode 65)
- (Anime): K-On! (Episode 1)
 

Reading:

- (Manga): Judge by Yoshiki Tonogai 
- (Manga): Midnight Secretary by Tomu Ohmi (Volume 4)


That's it for January. I took a look at my photo gallery this month and all I found were the photos I took at the Apricot Tree. So here's another photo from there, plus a random Youtube video:

The Apricot Beer I had at The Apricot Tree.

"Kokoro no Senritsu" from the anime Tari Tari.
This version is performed by Animenz Piano sheets.
It's a very pretty song.

Thanks for reading! As always, feel free to comment or ask about any of my experiences / exposures (though I barely had any this month). Have a good weekend! :)

BLOG (PERSONAL) -- My Music Timeline [Part 2 -- 1997 - 2000]

So here is Part 2 of my Music Timeline (you can check out the first part here: http://ironixgirl.blogspot.ca/2013/09/blog-personal-my-music-timeline-part-1.html). I may just be listing 4 years here, but believe me, so many things happened! I was exposed to so many new musics and artists. 

At that time, I held this line of thought about music (I more or less still think this way): A song and its singer are two different entities. I can like a song even if I don't like or care about the singer.

Overview of 1997 - 2000

So between 1997 and 2000, the following happened that upped my exposure to music, like, 1000-fold:

-I got a stereo with a radio (and started listening to the radio)
-I started watching the CHUM Chart Top 30 every weekend when it aired on CityTV (I don't know if this still happens. I doubt it)
-I got a hold of a CD player (it was my sister's)
-I had an "allowance" (AKA my weekly lunch money) and I discovered a shop that sold used music albums
-Some of my friends at the time were musically inclined (to mainstream musics)

And there ya have it. My music exposures came from every which way. Well, it was more like: radio, and word-of-mouth / "peer pressure". If I really liked a song I heard on the radio or if my friends really liked the group / artist, I would usually go out and buy the album, further exposing myself to more songs. 

It was through radio and my friends in 1997-1999 that I found myself swimming in a plethora of boy bands (ahh, that imagery is now dancing merrily in my head... ;) ). The sweet, romantic lyrics -- the catchy tunes -- the adorable, cute guys (!!)... those boy bands were quite the treat! :) And when I say boy bands, I'm referring to The Backstreet Boys, 98°, Savage Garden (well, a boy duo), Westlife, BBMak, The Moffatts, and *NSYNC (though I never found Justin Timberlake cute or attractive... that was like my little secret back then ^.^''). Hanson never really made an impression on me (sorry guys). I think it had to do with their long hair (I was young back then -- please don't judge me too harshly!).

Spice Girls was also really big at the time, and one of my friends was really into their music. Despite me initially thinking, This is "girly" stuff -- I don't want to be a part of it, I ended up genuinely liking some of their tunes. I even bought Geri Halliwell's solo album and Mel C's solo album. 

Then in the Summer of 1999, I re-connected with one my old friends, who then took me down another musical journey. He had varied tastes, but it was from my interactions with him that I took more notice of Mariah Carey and bought her "#1" CD album. I also ended up buying Britney Spear's debut album because of our talks. At this time, I also felt nostalgic for Ace of Base and bought their albums, including their new album "Cruel Cruel Summer". 

Then around 2000, I discovered Prozzak. Now, you're gonna say, But Prozzak was on the radio before 2000. You should have known about them already! And my response is: Yes, yes, I did know about them before. But they didn't do anything for me before. Omobalasire, Prozzak's first hit song, never hit home for me. Sucks To Be You and Strange Disease were catchy, but still, nothing to write home about.

Then one day, I found myself at Tower Records (back when Toronto had a Tower Records), and I was checking out some CDs. I thinking about picking up Britney Spear's second album, "Oops!... I Did It Again". I saw that her album was available to sample. I put on the headphones and checked it out. The little bits I heard were decent. Also available to sample was Prozzak's debut album, "Hot Show". I thought, Why not? I put on the headphones and selected the song Europa. It almost was like I went to another world. 
 
Europa was upbeat, but with such sad, melancholic lyrics. It really appealed to me! I checked a few more tunes on the album (I listened to Sleep With Myself in full) and I bought the album that same day. It was quite an awakening for me. I actually made the effort and visited Prozzak's official site (I think it was called Planet Prozzak?) and read various fan discussions and banter. I was super-excited when their second album, "Saturday People", was released.

Even though radio exposed me to a lot of great music, it also exposed me to tunes I had no care for. If you like these, I'm sorry, but I had no care for Boomtang Boys' Squeeze Toy, Christina Aguilera's Genie in a Bottle, and 3Deep's Into You, although the latter song does bring about a sense of nostalgia from time to time. For Genie in a Bottle, I actually liked everything about the song EXCEPT the lyric about having to "rub me the right way". I remember one time recording the song onto cassette when it was playing on the radio, and I paused the recording whenever she sang that line. Hahaha... I did my own bit of censorship way back then. As for Squeeze Toy, I hated it so much that I blocked any memory of listening to the song in full (though I know I did). I also didn't like Jennifer Paige's Crush or Natalie Imbruglia's Torn, though I like Torn now.

I think that's it for 1997-2000 (at least, the major points). Of course, I was exposed to much more. Just check my long playlist below. :)

Next up would be my angsty years, where I discover a Japanese Rock band. Also, a delving into all things anime (and its music, of course!). And musicals! Can't forget about the musicals! ;)

My Playlist

I know I will not be able to fully list my playlist for this time -- I was exposed to too much and I listened to a lot of it. I know that I will miss something (and this list will be updated when I remember). Regardless, this list right now is still really long! I do usually have a crazy-good memory for things like this, plus I still have some of the albums to help jog my memory! :)

One funny thing to note: while working up this playlist, I almost forgot to list *NSync! I remembered to list other boy bands like BBMak and V.I.P., but I almost forgot *NSync?! I just find that funny -- I don't mean any offense! ^.^''

-98°
    -The Hardest Thing
    -I Do (Cherish You)
    -This Gift
    -She's Out of My Life

-Ace of Base
    -Wheel of Fortune
    -Waiting for Magic
    -Angel Eyes
    -Experience Pearls
    -Everytime it Rains

-Aerosmith -- I Don't Wanna Miss a Thing

-All-4-One -- I Swear

-Aqua
    -Turn Back Time
    -My oh My

-Backstreet Boys
    -I Want it That Way
    -All I Have to Give
    -As Long As You Love Me
    -Show Me The Meaning of Being Lonely
    -Don't Want You Back
    -The Call 
    -Shape of My Heart
    -More Than That

-Barenaked Ladies
    -Just A Toy
    -Break Your Heart
    -One Week
    -Some Fantastic

-BBMak -- Back Here

-The Beatles
    -Yesterday
    -I Wanna Hold Your Hand

-Billy Ocean -- Suddenly

-Boomtang Boys -- Pictures

-Bon Jovi
    -It's My Life
    -Save the World
    -Thank You For Loving Me

-Brandy
    -The Boy Is Mine (Duet with Monica)
    -Have You Ever?
    -Tomorrow

-Britney Spears
    -...Baby One More Time
    -(You Drive Me) Crazy
    -From the Bottom of my Broken Heart
    -Oops!... I Did It Again
    -Stronger
    -What U See (Is What U Get)
    -Lucky
    -Can't Make You Love Me

-Celine Dion
    -Tell Him (Duet with Barbara Streisand)
    -Just Walk Away 

-Coco Lee -- Before I Fall In Love

-The Corrs
    -Dreams
    -Breathless

-Dan Hill
    -Sometimes When We Touch
    -Can't We Try (duet with Vonda Shepard)

-Eminem
    -Stan
    -The Way I Am

-Enrique Iglesias -- Be With You

-Fastball -- I could actually listen to and enjoy every song on the album. I especially like:
    -The Way
    -Out of My Head

-Geri Halliwell -- Mi Chico Latino

-Gordon Lightfoot -- If You Could Read My Mind

-Jennifer Lopez
    -If You Had My Love
    -Waiting For Tonight

-Jewel -- You Were Meant For Me

-K-Ci & JoJo
    -How Many Times (Will You Let Him Break Your Heart)
    -All My Life

-Lara Fabian -- I Will Love Again

-Lionel Richie -- Angel

-*NSYNC
    -Tearin Up My Heart
    -God Must Have Spent A Little More Time On You
    -I Want You Back
    -I Drive Myself Crazy
    -Bye Bye Bye

-Prozzak
    -Europa
    -Sleep With Myself    
    -Anna-Lisa
    -Monday Morning
    -www.nevergetoveryou
    -Pretty Girls
    -Be As

-Marc Anthony -- You Sang to Me

-Mariah Carey    
    -My All
    -I Still Believe
    -Love Takes Time
    -Hero

-Melanie C -- Northern Star

-The Moffatts -- Miss You Like Crazy

-Phil Collins -- You'll Be In My Heart

-The Pretenders -- Human

-Roch Voisine
    -With These Eyes
    -Dance With a Stranger

-Spice Girls
    -Wannabe
    -Viva Forever

-Savage Garden    
    -Truly Madly Deeply
    -To the Moon & Back
    -Santa Monica
    -Carry on Dancing
    -Affirmation
    -I Knew I Loved You
    -I Don't Know You Anymore

-Stars on 54 -- If You Could Read My Mind

-Tom Cochrane -- I Wonder

-V.I.P. (Voices in Public)
    -It's Just My Luck
    -Michael

-Westlife
    -Swear It Again
    -If I Let You Go
    -We Are One
    -My Love

-Whitney Houston -- All at Once

Sample Playlist

If I could, I would link to more videos here. But then you'd be scrolling through a lot of videos!

Jennifer Lopez -- Waiting for Tonight
I think this would be the perfect theme song
 to Romeo & Juliet's story, don't you think?

Savage Garden -- Santa Monica
Whenever I hear this, I feel like spreading my arms and flying! :)

Mariah Carey -- My All
I should note this video is a little, err, sensual?

Just gotta mention it!

Bon Jovi -- Save the World

Prozzak -- Monday Morning

Stars on 54 -- If You Could Read My Mind

I still need to check out this movie.

Backstreet Boys -- I Want It That Way
I have to end off with a song from a boy band, don't I? ;)


 

Thanks for reading! Feel free to comment about anything. If you'd like to recommend some music to me, please do! :)

Also, Happy early Lunar New Year! It's coming way sooner than I thought. :)

EXPOSURES (FOOD PLACES) -- Mariachi's, The Apricot Tree Cafe

It's been a long time since I've done an "Exposures" blog entry. I still do check out new places every once in a while, but less often these days. x.x

MARIACHI'S

Location: 2084 Yonge St., Toronto, Ontario (close to Yonge & Eglinton) Google Map

Contact #: (416) 481-7111
Website: http://www.mariachis.ca

Type(s) of Cuisine: Mexican

Specialty (if any): None

Price Range (for a main dish): Mid (Around $13-$18 for most main courses)

Restaurant Size: Small

Recommend? Yes

Brief Impression

This is actually the first time I ever visited a Mexican restaurant so I don't know how to comment on the decor (if it's authentic or whatever). The lights were dimly lit. There were festive streamers around the walls. I think it would give a very "festive" feel overall... if the lights were just a bit brighter.

The service was good overall. They were attentive and nice. The food was good, too. I honestly don't have any past experiences to compare it to, but what I had was delicious. I wouldn't really recommend the Churros, though, unless it's supposed to be plain-tasting.

I think it's worth checking out again -- if anything, for the guacamole.

What I Ate / Drank ...

Guacamole de gallo -- It was yummy. I've never had guacamole before. It's tangy and smooth. Supposedly the tortilla chips are homemade.
Taquitos -- The shell wasn't as crunchy as I thought it would be. It was good, though.
Churros -- This looked great, but tasted a bit plain...

The Guacamole de gallo. According to my team-mates, Mariachi's has one of 

the best guacamole. This means that every other guacamole I try 

elsewhere will be not as good. Hmm...

THE APRICOT TREE CAFÉ

Location: 1900 Dundas Street West, Mississauga, Ontario (close to Lansdowne Ave. & Dundas St. W.) Google Map

Contact #: (905) 855-1470
Website: http://apricottreecafe.com/

Type(s) of Cuisine: French? European?

Specialty (if any): Desserts

Price Range (for a main dish): Mid-High -- ($10-$22 for lunch; $11-$25+ for dinner)

Restaurant Size: Small

Recommend? Yes

Brief Impression

The decor is not one to write home about (Sorry!). It has a cozy enough feel with the painted walls of the night sky; I just think it would be received much better through a child's perspective. I think what I'm trying to say that is that if I grew up visiting this place, I would welcome and appreciate the decor instead of just thinking, It's nice.

I have to note that there is some noise level here. The kitchen seems to be situated right in the center of the restaurant, in view of the patrons, so it's understandable. One thing that The Apricot Tree stresses is that the food is homemade, so it would be neat to see your order being whipped up.

One really nice thing about The Apricot Tree is that they seem to have daily (or weekly?) lunch and dinner specials, so there can always be a different food experience. And the food. is. yummy! Well, at least what I had. 

The servers were really attentive, too. One of them even remembered that I left my earmuffs there when I went back later to check (I can't believe I forgot something at a restaurant! I think this was my first time).

Overall, it was a good experience, and I hope I'll be able to go back. They specialize in desserts, so if you get a chance to visit, try a dessert.

What I Ate / Drank... 
Apricot Beer -- First swig I was hit by the alcohol taste (bleh!). After more sips, the apricot taste started to kick in, and was pretty good.
Chicken Tarragon Crepe -- Yummy! I was at first wary of the sauce -- it looked like it would be thick and heavy, but it was light. Besides the chewy-ness of the chicken, the texture of everything inside was soft.
Mango Mousse -- This almost felt like eating a mango-flavoured shortbread. The top layers were soft and smooth, but the bottom layer was almost cookie-like. I enjoyed it!

Mango Mousse. The sauce on the right (white chocolate raspberry?) 
mixed well with the cake.

Thanks for reading! If you have any comments or want to know more about anything, feel free! :)

BLOG -- My lazy weekend

Hello everybody! I was planning on saying there's no blog this week. This past week has been really hectic, busy, and super-stressful for me -- *sigh* It's so hard to think about anything else! When you get really stressed, what do you do to relax and unwind? For me, I do various media-consuming activities, with playing video games usually taking the spotlight. I also sing (and dance horribly) a lot! 

I figured, why not just write about my lazy weekend? It's definitely better than saying "I have no blog for you this week!" And with that, here's a re-counting of what I did this weekend.

*NOTE: This entry might not be that interesting to you*


Friday evening
I went over to my sister's place, intent on playing some Call of Duty: Ghosts. Instead, I ended up playing this addictive (though slightly cheesily-written) Metroidvania-type PC game called Unepic. I've been playing it on-and-off for a while now. If I had started the game on my computer instead of my sister's computer, I can assure you that I would have finished it by now. I played Unepic until around midnight and then went to sleep. Even though it's the start of the weekend, I usually sleep "earlier" on Fridays (i.e. I crash earlier).

Then I woke up all of a sudden 'cuz my sister plopped an extra blanket layer on me, lol.

Saturday
I woke up around 7 AM and went straight to playing Unepic. I thought I was close to beating it, but apparently not. I played it straight to 1-ish PM, and then my sister, her fiance, and I went to this lighting store called Royal Lighting. My sister and her fiance were thinking of buying another light fixture for the ceiling. That store is pretty neat. They had a bunch of different light designs.

Then we went to No Frills and I bought a lot of junk snacks (mmmmm, chips....).

When we got back to my sister's place, I went straight to playing Unepic (again). Then around 9 PM, my sister and I played Call of Duty: Ghosts with our clan-mates. It was pretty fun and crazy. We played Clan Team Deathmatch for the first time, and we kicked total butt! We played the Flooded map, and we were losing at first, but turned things around halfway through. I was able to camp at a corner and set up one I.M.S. at one entrance, and a sentry gun at the other entrance. It was great.

Around midnight, our clan-mates left for the night, but my sister and I ended up playing till 2-ish AM.

Sunday
I woke up around 8 AM and (surprise, surprise) continued playing Unepic. Around 1:45 PM, I finally got around to lugging myself back home. When I got home, I finished up this anime series called Polyphonica. I really like the premise, but the series itself isn't too spectacular. 

Then I spent the next couple of hours singing (and dancing a little). I was still feeling stressed so I sang a couple of belty tunes like Linkin Park's Numb, and A Place for my Head (I can't do those yelling parts, though), and then some upbeat tunes like Owl City's When Can I See You Again, and Delta Spirit's Yahama. And of course, humming / singing along to a bunch of Hatsune Miku songs.

Now I'm just blogging and starting up another anime series (gotta keep my resolutions going!). It's called Dusk Maiden of Amnesia. It has a really creepy atmosphere, with moments of fan service. The series is about a schoolgirl ghost (Yuuko) who doesn't remember how she died, and about the boy who can see her (Teichii). They investigate various paranormal rumors surrounding the school, hoping along the way to unearth clues as to how Yuuko really died.

Now, hopefully I'll get myself to bed before midnight so I can get a good night's sleep before work tomorrow!


Thanks for reading! I hope you all have a wonderful week and take care!! :)

BLOG -- My Movie-Watching History (in Theatres) [2013]

Here is my movie-watching (in theatres) history for 2013. Some of you probably knew this was coming -- I do like watching movies in theatres, after all! (Well, when I can afford it). Even though I've covered these throughout the year in my end-of-month blogs, here they are all together, with additional commentary for most, if not for all.

SPOILER ALERT WARNING!!

Since I will be mentioning a good number of movies in this blog, some of them will contain spoilers. Any movie that will contain a spoiler will be marked.

2013

MOVIE: Les Miserables [x2] [SPOILER]

DATE: January 8, 2013 

DATE: January 20, 2013 

RATING (OUT OF 5): ****

COMMENTS: This was great. Hugh Jackman could really sing. And it was really nice to finally understand the full story and see how the songs are connected. Anne Hathaway’s scene when she goes down the bad road was really hard to watch.

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MOVIE: Twilight: Breaking Dawn ~ Part 2 [SPOILER]

DATE: January 27, 2013

RATING (OUT OF 5): ****

COMMENTS: I mainly saw this to see the end of the series – and to see more of Jacob Black. He’s just a great character. Bella is such a b*tch. She’s so horrible to him. I think it was a little disappointing in terms of action, but the story worked, and I’m glad that nobody except Irina died.

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MOVIE: Battle Royale

DATE: February 4, 2013

RATING (OUT OF 5): ****

COMMENTS: This was shown as part of the Great Digital Festival. I was amazed at the huge turn-out, since it’s now widely available – on Netflix and on DVD / Blu-Ray. The ethnography of the crowd was quite interesting, too. Seeing them, I kinda felt like I belonged – a group with differing interests. Seeing the crowd, besides our interest in Battle Royale, I wouldn’t be able to tell if there was anything else in common. Fashion styles are different. Ethnicity is different. Even gender. It was cool.

My only gripe was that the showing was the theatrical cut of Battle Royale, not the Director’s cut. It was good that they played it in Japanese with English subs. But the theatrical cut is only available in that way. People clapped at the end, too!

You can read my review for the Complete Collection here: http://ironixgirl.blogspot.ca/2012/04/reviewthoughts-movie-battle-royale.html

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MOVIE: Warm Bodies [x3]

DATE: February 12, 2013 

DATE: March 5, 2013 

DATE: March 11, 2013  

RATING (OUT OF 5): *****

COMMENTS: This was really heartwarming. I thought the story was unique, and the whole “seeing things from a zombie’s perspective” was cool. And it was funny! R is such a sweet zombie. The soundtrack is really great, too.

You can read my review for it here: http://ironixgirl.blogspot.ca/2013/02/reviewthoughts-movie-warm-bodies.html

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MOVIE: Identity Thief

DATE: February 15, 2013

RATING (OUT OF 5): ***

COMMENTS: For a movie where I was expecting to laugh, I barely did. There was some slapstick humour and I don’t really find that funny. During a scene where the main guy hit the main girl with a guitar, some teenage girls in the audience laughed. I’m just thinking, What’s so funny about that? The nice thing about this movie is that there was substance.

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MOVIE: Jack the Giant Slayer (3D) [SPOILER]

DATE: March 25, 2013

RATING (OUT OF 5): ****

COMMENTS: It was a sweet and exciting movie. I was really glad that it didn’t end in the cliffhanger that looked like it would end at. Nicholas Hoult was fine as usual, but not as awesome as in Warm Bodies. The pacing was a little slow, too.

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MOVIE: Admission [SPOILER]

DATE: March 26, 2013

RATING (OUT OF 5): ***

COMMENTS: This was okay. Tina Fey is really good at her role and Paul Rudd was good, too. I really liked the mother character, and the weird poet couple was funny, too. Unfortunately, some of the moments were a little predictable and the twist in the end was not cathartic.

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MOVIE: Trance

DATE: April 15, 2013

RATING (OUT OF 5): ****

COMMENTS: The music was really good and energy pumping. James McAvoy was really great, too, and the story was just – what a mindf*ck. A little too dark for my liking, but enjoyable.

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MOVIE: Iron Man 3

DATE: May 28, 2013

RATING (OUT OF 5): *****

COMMENTS: So good. This movie was soooooo gooooood. Robert Downey Jr. is just awesome as Stark and Gwyneth Paltrow is really great, too. Big kudos to this.

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MOVIE: Now You See Me [SPOILER]

DATE: June 25, 2013

RATING (OUT OF 5): *****

COMMENTS: This was really good. The magic; the acting; the story – it was all good! Dave Franco is slowly growing on me, so I was really glad his character survived. I can’t wait to own this movie.

You can read my review for it here: http://ironixgirl.blogspot.ca/2013/06/reviewthoughts-movie-now-you-see-me.html

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MOVIE: Red 2

DATE: July 23, 2013

RATING (OUT OF 5): ****

COMMENTS: It wasn’t as good as the first one, but was still enjoyable. I loved seeing Helen Mirren again, and the story was wrapped up nicely in the end. Anthony Hopkins is such a cruel son of a b*tch! The guy who played Hans was really well-built – pretty hot, too, lol.

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MOVIE: Battle of the Year (3D) [SPOILER]

DATE: October 1st, 2013

RATING (OUT OF 5): **

COMMENTS: I watched it because Dominic Sandoval (D-Trix) was in it. Then I noticed Josh Holloway in the trailer and I wanted to see it more. This was cheesy to its fullest. D-Trix was barely in it, too! At least he was recognized in the movie as being one of the best b-boys in the US.

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MOVIE: Don Jon [x2]

DATE: October 8, 2013 

DATE: October 11, 2013  

RATING (OUT OF 5): ****

COMMENTS: I had to see Joseph Gordon-Levitt’s directorial debut. I can sense the artistry and rhythm behind the scripting, camera choices, and just the whole structure of the movie. It’s funny where you wouldn’t expect it – it’s sweet when you wouldn’t think it could get sweet. It’s a simple, complex commentary on people and their objectifying expectations, and I like it!

You can read my review for it here: http://ironixgirl.blogspot.ca/2013/10/reviewthoughts-movie-don-jon.html

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MOVIE: Enders Game

DATE: November 12, 2013

RATING (OUT OF 5): ****

COMMENTS: I’ve never read the book and I really enjoyed it. Asa Butterfield was great as Wiggin. His curt, confident stature totally gives off an “I can definitely lead” vibe. It makes me want to follow him, hahaha.

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MOVIE: Pirates! Band of Misfits

DATE: November 16, 2013

RATING (OUT OF 5): ***

COMMENTS: This is great for kids. Not really for me. It was amusing, for sure, but I don’t know – I didn’t really feel that I cared about the characters.

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MOVIE: Gravity (3D)

DATE: November 19, 2013

RATING (OUT OF 5): ****

COMMENTS: This was good and suspenseful. Because of the movie’s environment, it was perfect to see in 3D. I wish there was just a little more at the end.

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MOVIE: Catching Fire

DATE: December 3, 2013

RATING (OUT OF 5): ****

COMMENTS: Really nice! It didn’t feel rushed for a movie adaptation and I love the characters. Ahhh, Peeta…

You can read my review for it here: http://ironixgirl.blogspot.ca/2013/12/reviewthoughts-movie-hunger-games.html

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MOVIE: The Hobbit: Desolation of Smaug

DATE: December 27, 2013

RATING (OUT OF 5): ****

COMMENTS: It was exciting with lots of action. It’s too bad that this is just part two of The Hobbit. I wanna see how it ends right now!

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MOVIE: 47 Ronin (3D) [SPOILER]

DATE: December 31st, 2013

RATING (OUT OF 5): ****

COMMENTS: I was surprised with the movie’s emotion. It had a lot of emotion and beautiful bits of romance. It also displayed very well the importance of honour, duty, and samurai code back in that time. This is the second time I’ve watched a movie that had a seppuku scene. The first time I saw it (in Merry Christmas, Mr. Lawrence), it was displayed as a cruel, horrific act -- a sentence to be feared. This time, it was displayed as a way of keeping one’s honour. Still an unfortunate act, but appreciated at the same time.

It’s too bad 47 Ronin got such bad reviews.

  

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That's it for this blog. Thanks for reading! If you have any comments about anything (even if you greatly disagree with anything I've said, or if this made you think about the movies you've watched and want to share), feel free to comment! :)