BLOG -- Recap of May

So May was pretty busy for me. I barely had much time to play Final Fantasy XIV: A Realm Reborn, getting ready for my sister's bridal shower / bachelorette. I am also trying to expose myself more to my gaming / anime / movie collection -- my room is getting pretty full.

Outings/Events in May:

- Stayed over at my sister's place x3. 

- Hung out with friends x3. 

- Had my sister's bridal shower / bachelorette. So fun!

- A friend apologized for not talking to / ignoring me for a long time.


- Final Fantasy XIV: A Realm Reborn achievements / news: 
-One of my alts got married! A few of my friends on another server created alt characters to attend. I was so happy and appreciative :)
-One of my alts got my first primal pony.

Exposures:

- (PS4) Race the Sun -- This is surprisingly addictive... at least for the 1st 100 crashes or so. I'll probably play this every now and then, since the map changes every 24 hours.

Finished...

Watching:

- (Movie): Kingsman: The Secret Service -- Yes, I watched this again. And in theatres -- three months after its release date. I am so happy for it. Now I'm patiently waiting for the DVD / Blu-Ray release.

- (Movie): Pitch Perfect 2

- (Movie): Resident Evil 5: Retribution -- It was pretty terrible, but now I'm ready to watch the upcoming 6th movie, supposedly the final one.

- (Movie): Where the Truth Lies -- Ehhh... there were parts that I liked, and parts that I didn't like. Colin Firth and Kevin Bacon were really good in this.

- (Movie): Valmont -- I didn't realize till I started watching it that I had watched part of this long, long ago. I also made a mental note to remember it, so I could watch it again. What are the odds... I only watched this 'cuz Colin Firth was in it, hahaha. I really enjoy the acting and the characters.

- (Movie): Bridget Jones's Diary -- I watched this for Colin Firth. I didn't enjoy it, though. I don't really like the main character.

- (Movie): King's Speech -- I watched this for Colin Firth. I absolutely loved this movie. I could really sympathize and empathize with Bertie's issues. I also really enjoyed the interactions between Bertie and Lionel Logue.

- (Movie): Thor: The Dark World -- Ehh... I don't know. I didn't like this as much as the first Thor movie. At least now I can watch Avengers: Age of Ultron (whenever I get around to it).

- (Anime): Book of Bantorra -- This is an addictive series. I enjoyed watching it, but I wish the series treated the characters I liked better.

Playing:

- (3DS): Pokemon Shuffle -- I beat the last stage in its main mode, so I'm considering it beaten. I'll still check on it everyday, though. I still have some pokemon to catch, lol.

- (PS3): Hatsune Miku F 2nd -- I unlocked all the songs in Normal mode so I'll consider it beaten. I don't think I'd be able to get all trophies for this one like I did with the first game.
 

Reading:

- Nothing this time.

Currently... 

Playing (not all at once):

- (PS3): Borderlands 2   
- (3DS): Bravely Default
- (3DS): Liberation Maiden 
- (3DS): Disney Magical World
- (3DS): Pokemon Rumble
- (GBA): The Legend of Zelda: Four Swords Anniversary Edition   
- (PSP): Persona 
- (PSP): Crush
- (PSVita): Persona 4 Golden  
- (Wii): Fortune Street 
- (PS2): Atelier Iris 2 
- (PC): UnEpic  
- (PC): King's Bounty: The Legend

Watching:

- (TV Show): The Walking Dead (Season 5)
- (TV Show): Orphan Black (Season 2)  
- (Anime): Yu Yu Hakusho (don't remember)
- (Anime): Shakugan no Shana (Season 1 -- Episode 19)
- (Anime): Log Horizon (episode 3)
- (Anime): K-On! Season 2 (episode 3)

Reading:

- Nothing at the time.


That's it for May. Here are a few pics I took this month -- all during my sister's bridal shower / bachelorette.

 Some of the snacks for my sister's bridal shower / bachelorette.

The main course for my sister's bridal shower / bachelorette. Mmmmmm! *drools*

One of the games we played. It's Cards Against Humanity, but my sister and I 
came up with our own questions and answers. It was really fun! 
What answer would you choose to fill in the blank? Click on the pic to enlarge it.

Have a good rest of the weekend and thanks for reading! :)

REVIEW/THOUGHTS [MOVIE] -- Pitch Perfect 2

Format Watched: In theatres (May 15, 2015)

Approx. Runtime: 115 minutes (1 hours, 55 minutes)

Language Watched: English

Type of Movie: Comedy, Musical

Overall Impression: There were some nice moments, but overall -- uhh... not very enjoyable, and sometimes awkward. I think they were trying too hard to be funny. Watch it only for the musical performances.

SPOILER ALERT WARNING!!

This review will contain some spoilers -- or rather, there will be a "Spoilers" section at the end of the review to go into further detail about certain things. There may still be slight spoilers throughout the review, but I've tried my best to keep them at a minimum.

PERSONAL STANDING (Pre-exposures, thoughts, etc.)

Ever since I watched Pitch Perfect for the first time, I've been a huge fan of it. So when I saw a trailer for Pitch Perfect 2, I was super excited. I wanted to see the characters interact and I wanted to listen to more lovely a capella renditions.

STORY

After a major performance mishap, the Barden Bellas are suspended from performing and taking in new members. In order to get the suspension lifted, they aim to win an international competition that no US group has ever won before. While the Bellas prepare for the competition day, Beca starts her internship at a record label, not telling the Bellas about it. Also through a loophole in the suspension, a new member joins the group.

Story-wise, I had no problems with it. It was pretty much the same kind of set up as the first movie. The Barden Bellas mess up on a major performance. They try to reclaim their former glory through a major competitive event. It does make the movie a bit predictable in terms of the outcomes of some situations. But overall, I didn't have issues with the story. I did feel one story element was too rushed, though. I'll mention it in the "Spoilers" section.

THE COMEDY

Here was my big issue. Yes, there were some moments where I smiled or chuckled -- but a lot of the times, I either cringed or thought, this is not funny or this feels awkward. To me, it felt like a lot of the humour was there just to be funny, but not add anything to the story or to the characters. I guess I'll mention some of the comedic moments I didn't like in the "Spoilers" section. I guess I'll also mention the few comedic moments I liked.

I think this movie would have been way more enjoyable if they lessened the comedy and used that time towards more character development (more on that further down).

ACTING/CHARACTERS

The acting was generally good. Extra props to Katey Sagal and Flula Borg. I didn't even know they were in it. Unfortunately, I can't say the same thing about the characters...

CHARACTERS

Ahhh... *sigh* I'm sad to say, but many of the characters in Pitch Perfect 2 -- even the original characters from Pitch Perfect -- felt very one-noted here. It was almost like they were caricatures of their former selves. I was hoping to see more development for each character, but Pitch Perfect 2 focused on only a few characters. I think the only characters I liked (who were also in the first Pitch Perfect movie) or had no qualms with ('cuz they weren't cursed with having lines for the sake of humour) were Fat Amy, Bumper, Cynthia, Lilly, and Stacie.

I really liked Beca and Chloe in Pitch Perfect, but I didn't feel the same here. Same thing with the commentators, Gail and John. They were hilarious in Pitch Perfect, but here... too many cringe-worthy lines. In a realistic setting, I don't think John would have gotten away with saying all the stuff he said.

As for who I would have liked to see more development for: Jesse and the Treblemakers. To me, it felt like Jesse and the Treblemakers were just straggling pieces leftover from the first movie. They were there just so people wouldn't wonder what happened to them. I'll mention a thought about the Treblemakers in the "Spoilers" section.

To briefly comment on the new characters: Das Sound Machine were fine. Emily was okay, though slightly awkward. Emily's mom was good. Florencia was just terrible.

MUSIC

Although I personally enjoyed the music selection more from the first movie (because I recognized more of it), this was still enjoyable and definitely the highlight. I often had a huge smile during the musical performances. I think they featured a lot of '80s / '90s tunes.

MOVIE VS. PITCH PERFECT

In my opinion, Pitch Perfect is the better movie. And that is not just because it's the first in the series. In Pitch Perfect, the story and characters came first, then the music, then the humour. I think this made Pitch Perfect more relatable. To me, Pitch Perfect 2 just doesn't compare.
 

CLOSING THOUGHTS

If you are a fan of the first movie, I'd recommend watching Pitch Perfect 2 when movie admissions are discounted (if you have movie discount days where you are), at least to watch the characters perform their stuff. Otherwise... I'd recommend watching Pitch Perfect instead, or just getting the soundtracks.


Thanks for reading! If you want some more input about something I didn't cover, feel free to ask. :)

Now I'll do the scrolly thing so you don't see the "Spoilers" section right away. Then I'll add some more scrolly things after the "Spoilers" section in case anybody wants to comment, but not see the spoilers.

..............................................................
..............................................................
..............................................................
..............................................................
..............................................................
..............................................................
..............................................................
..............................................................
..............................................................
..............................................................
..............................................................
..............................................................
..............................................................
..............................................................
..............................................................
..............................................................
..............................................................
..............................................................
..............................................................
..............................................................
..............................................................
..............................................................
..............................................................
..............................................................
..............................................................
..............................................................
..............................................................
..............................................................
..............................................................
..............................................................
..............................................................
..............................................................
..............................................................
..............................................................
..............................................................
..............................................................
..............................................................
..............................................................
..............................................................
..............................................................
..............................................................
..............................................................
..............................................................
..............................................................
..............................................................
..............................................................
..............................................................
..............................................................
..............................................................
..............................................................
..............................................................
..............................................................
..............................................................
..............................................................
..............................................................
..............................................................
..............................................................
..............................................................
..............................................................
..............................................................
..............................................................
..............................................................
..............................................................
..............................................................
..............................................................
..............................................................
..............................................................
..............................................................
..............................................................
..............................................................
..............................................................
..............................................................
..............................................................
..............................................................
..............................................................
..............................................................
..............................................................
..............................................................
..............................................................
..............................................................
..............................................................
..............................................................
..............................................................
..............................................................
..............................................................
..............................................................
..............................................................
..............................................................
..............................................................
..............................................................
..............................................................
..............................................................
..............................................................
..............................................................
..............................................................
..............................................................
..............................................................
..............................................................
..............................................................
..............................................................

SPOILERS

"I did feel one story element was too rushed." 

I felt that the "Riff-off" was very rushed. Each group messing up in what I find to be such a cop-out way, especially for the Treblemakers and Barden Bellas. It was almost like they didn't know how to cut them out legitimately. I personally wanted the riff-off to last longer.

---------------------------------------------

"I guess I'll mention some of the comedic moments I didn't like."

Some of it I already mentioned in the review, but I'll mention them again here and in more detail:

Beca's "insults": These were cringe-worthy lines. Who came up with the idea that Beca's insults to Kommissar would come out as compliments?! I don't think it's funny at all. I also find it very off-character for Beca since she seems like she could face adversity head-on.

Beca says to Kommissar: "Your sweat smells like cinnamon!"
Me in my head: Ugh!! Whyyyyyyy???!!!

John the commentator: In Pitch Perfect, John was very entertaining, giving actual commentary while sprinkling derogatory comments throughout. In Pitch Perfect 2, he was flat out offensive and extremely sexist. As far as I remember, everything he said was something about women. If this was a realistic situation, I think he would get fired or something.

Florencia: I honestly think the movie would have been fine without this character. Almost everything that comes out of her mouth is some terrible story to one-up the current terrible situation or feeling. It's supposed to be funny, but it's not. To me, I find it annoying and kinda inconsiderate.

Emily's last name: *sigh* They were really reaching here. Why create a character and name her Emily Junk-Hardon??! It's not necessary at all.

---------------------------------------------

"I guess I'll also mention the few comedic moments I liked."

Bumper's audition: This happened during the credits. I won't say anything about it in case you left just as the credits started, but I found it very entertaining.

Scenes at the record label: There were some nice moments, especially the scene with Snoop Dogg.

---------------------------------------------

"I'll mention a thought about the Treblemakers."

Now... between Das Sound Machine and the Barden Bellas at the international competition, I personally thought Das Sound Machine should have won. I liked their performance more than the Bellas'. I think it would have been cooler (or more interesting) if -- instead of performing an original song and bringing back the old Bellas -- they did a collaboration performance with the Treblemakers. Maybe Emily and Benji could duet the original song. Just... haha, I think it would have been neat if the Treblemakers had more involvement in the movie.

If you read my spoilers, thank for reading! Now to finish with more scrolly things. If you disagree with anything or just want to say something, feel free to comment :D

..............................................................
..............................................................
..............................................................
..............................................................
..............................................................
..............................................................
..............................................................
..............................................................
..............................................................
..............................................................
..............................................................
..............................................................
..............................................................
..............................................................
..............................................................
..............................................................
..............................................................
..............................................................
..............................................................
..............................................................
..............................................................
..............................................................
..............................................................
..............................................................
..............................................................
..............................................................
..............................................................
..............................................................
..............................................................
..............................................................
..............................................................
..............................................................
..............................................................
..............................................................
..............................................................
..............................................................
..............................................................
..............................................................
..............................................................
..............................................................
..............................................................
..............................................................
..............................................................
..............................................................
..............................................................
..............................................................
..............................................................
..............................................................
..............................................................
..............................................................
..............................................................
..............................................................
..............................................................
..............................................................
..............................................................
..............................................................
..............................................................
..............................................................
..............................................................
..............................................................
..............................................................
..............................................................
..............................................................
..............................................................
..............................................................
..............................................................
..............................................................
..............................................................
..............................................................
..............................................................
..............................................................
..............................................................
..............................................................
..............................................................
..............................................................
..............................................................
..............................................................
..............................................................
..............................................................
..............................................................
..............................................................
..............................................................
..............................................................
..............................................................
..............................................................
..............................................................
..............................................................
..............................................................
..............................................................
..............................................................
..............................................................
..............................................................
..............................................................
..............................................................
..............................................................
..............................................................
..............................................................
..............................................................
..............................................................
..............................................................