BLOG (PERSONAL) -- What I've Been Thinking About These Past Months

Well, to follow-up with my last blog, I figured I'd write about some of the things I thought about these past months. This is like my "mental" update, though I won't write about everything. I can't remember everything that's run through my head -- my mind is always thinking, or at least it feels that way. 

Again, as I said in my last blog, this might not be very interesting for you.

Obligatory Romances in Movies
So I briefly mentioned this a couple times in earlier blogs. Movies with "obligatory romances" kinda annoy me. When I was growing up, I noticed this in many movies. Unless they were a movie for kids, I actually can't think of any movie I watched back then that didn't have some kind of romance in it. 

Now, it's fine if the romance is genuine, is already established between the characters, or is the focus of the movie and works (I mean, I am a hopeless romantic after all, so I do enjoy good romance in movies). I'm talking about movies where the romance feels tacked on or convenient. For example, the main character joins a club and it has tons of members and only one member is the gender the main character is attracted to. Or only one member is super-attractive while everybody else is not so attractive. If the main character falls for that one member, it would annoy me for the most part, because it seems like the character is falling out of convenience. I've never told anybody this before, but the tacked on / convenient romance is the main reason I haven't watched a lot of the James Bond movies. I'm under the impression that the James Bond movies have this general formula (please correct me if I'm wrong): James Bond saves the day and gets the woman. It's just not that appealing to me.

Thankfully, seeing movies like Captain America: The Winter Soldier, Big Hero 6, and Kingsman: The Secret Service gives me hope that not every movie in the future will have an "obligatory" romance. Fingers crossed!


Getting Older
Well, my birthday is coming up, so of course this has been on my mind. I wish I wasn't getting older. I certainly don't act my age, and I don't think I'd ever want to.


Saving The "Best" for Last
I kind of have this weird mindset sometimes when I'm trying to decide what to read, watch, or play. A lot of times, I hold back on experiencing something I really want to experience, because I know I will enjoy it, or because I hear it is really good. I don't know why, but I often want to save the "best" for last. I guess it's maybe in case I have a bad time in my life, there will be something I could experience to "cheer" me up. Because of this, though, sometimes it'll be years before I experience something. Even now I haven't played Shin Megami Tensei: Nocturne on the PS2, many of the Tales of games, many of the Atelier games, Final Fantasy games...

I never really thought much about my mindset before, but now that I'm older with less time and a wayyyy larger collection, I'm wondering if I'll have to re-prioritize things. I don't want to save something for later, and then that "later" just never comes because of everything else that comes up.


Video Game Progression / Save Data
This thought just came into my head a couple weeks ago: how would I feel if maybe 15-20 years down the line, the servers for Final Fantasy XIV: A Realm Reborn shut down and all the progress with my characters are lost? How would I feel if my PS2 memory cards suddenly stopped working? Would I feel that everything's been a waste? My short answer is no. I still have the memories and at least for Final Fantasy XIV: A Realm Reborn, I've met people that I consider my friends -- people I probably never would have met any other way. That is definitely not a waste. I guess it makes me think about things, though. When I enjoy a game, I always try my best to "preserve" my save data, like having it on multiple memory cards, or saving an online copy for my PS3 / PS4 (since I have a Playstation Plus subscription). Kinda like proof of my time spent.

It's just -- when the newer consoles come out, and the old stuff just doesn't function anymore, will I be okay with it? When Final Fantasy XIV released its Heavensward expansion, they included this feature where if you type "/playtime", it will output your playtime on that character. I did this on my main character a week ago, and it said that I've played for "106 days, 19 hours, and 32 minutes". 106 days... that's over 2,500 hours. That's pretty crazy for me, this being my first paid MMO. Now, I won't stop playing Final Fantasy XIV or other video games I wanna play. I'm still really looking forward to Persona 4: Dance All Night, Persona 5, Shin Megami Tensei x Fire Emblem, and a ton of other games. I'm just thinking about it, most likely because I'm thinking of something else, like my reason / meaning for living or something.


Thanks for reading! Next week should be a regular-ish blog since now I'm all caught up. Have a good week! :)

BLOG -- Recap of June

Now... I have no idea how June came and went so fast. I thought June would be a slow-ish month for me, knowing that I wouldn't be hanging out much with my friends. I'm thinking "What the heck did I do this month??". I didn't even get to check out any of the conference videos from E3! :(

Outings/Events in June:

- Stayed over at my sister's place x2. 

- Hung out with friends x1. 

- Took a half vacation day just to catch an early movie with my sister.


- Final Fantasy XIV: A Realm Reborn achievements / news: 
-I cleared T9 for the first time on my main character. Wooot!
-I turned one of my alts into an Au Ra, the new race in FFXIV's expansion.
-Another of my alts reached 50, and now that alt is married, too, lol. It was a favour to a friend 'cuz he really wanted the chocobo mount. It was a pain to level up this alt to 50, so I'm probably done with creating alts for the next long while.

Exposures:

- (Food) Funnel Cakes -- It's a bit unbelievable but I don't remember ever eating funnel cakes. I gotta say that they're kinda deceptive, hahaha. Just from the look of it, I was expecting a soft and chewy dessert.

Finished...

Watching:

- (Movie): Avengers: Age of Ultron -- I finally got to watch it. I personally enjoyed the first movie more, but this one was pretty good, too. I didn't like how some of the characters were treated, though (and no, I am not talking about Black Widow here).

- (Movie): Mad Max: Fury Road -- This is a really good action movie, though I didn't like Max as much as I did in the older movies. Whenever I hear Giuseppe Verdi's "Dies Irae", I think of the movie Battle Royale.

- (Movie): Alone in the Dark -- I wanted to watch this just because it's based off a video game. I don't know why -- I just want to try watching all video game movie adaptations. I was able to rent this for free from Bay Street Video, and, well -- I'm glad I rented it for free, hahaha... It was... uhhh... pretty cheesy and not very enjoyable for me. 

- (Movie): A Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors -- This is kinda cheesy, though kinda creepy.

- (Movie): Save the Last Dance -- This movie has been on my "to-watch" list ever since the first time I watched K-Ci & JoJo's Crazy music video (ahem -- that was many, many years ago!). I enjoyed parts of it. It's a bit sad to say, but I think I would have enjoyed this much more if I watched it back then, when I was much, much younger, haha.

- (Movie): The Advocate -- I watched this for Colin Firth, and it was pretty interesting. I'd say it's good for at least one watching -- just to see the last 30 minutes of the movie.

- (Movie): Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason -- I kinda enjoyed this more than the first movie, but just by a bit.

- (Anime): Colorful: The Motion Picture -- I have to stress that I watched Colorful: The Motion Picture, NOT Colorful the anime series (I guess I should also mention that I've never watched Colorful the anime series, and I probably never will). Anywho, Colorful: The Motion Picture was... not that interesting for me. I personally would not recommend it.

- (Anime): Flowers of Evil -- Now... this series. Wow. It totally drained me after watching it. I have to mention that this is not an aesthetically pleasing anime. But -- I also think that it suits the overall tone and atmosphere. It is also very slow paced, but I didn't mind it. It felt very engaging to me. The voice-acting was really awesome. It didn't even feel like I was watching an anime; more like a live-action show that is animated.

I gotta say, though: the last 10-ish minutes of the last episode just killed it for me. I'm not sure if I could recommend it or not, just because of that last episode. Though... I do agree with this quote from Nick Creamer's review on the show: "The Flowers of Evil is one of the best shows you will never want to watch again". I'll probably try reading the manga now, hahaha.

Playing:

- (PC): Papers, Please! -- As mentioned in my last blog, this is a fun and addictive game. There are times, though, where playing this feels kinda like work. I find it pretty funny.

- (3DS): Disney Magical World -- Well, I unlocked the credits, so I'm going to consider this done. I've also run through every stage I know of at least once so all that's left is item-grinding. In other words, it's going back on my shelf. Overall, it was an addictive game. I mean, how could one go wrong with a game that's part Animal Crossing, part dungeon crawling? :D
 

Reading:

- Nothing this time.

Currently... 

Playing (not all at once):

- (PS3): Borderlands 2   
- (3DS): Bravely Default
- (3DS): Liberation Maiden 
- (3DS): Fantasy Life
- (3DS): Senran Kagura Burst
- (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 3)  
- (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 June. I only took one real pic in June, so I'll share that.

 A pic of the funnel cake. I didn't like it in the end.
I was hoping it would be soft and chewy, haha.

Have a good rest of the week and thanks for reading! :) To those who'll be celebrating Canada's Day tomorrow, Happy Canada's Day! To those who'll be celebrating Independence Day in a few days, Happy Independence Day!

BLOG (PERSONAL) -- What I've Been Doing These Past Months

So... I kinda just wanted to write this blog... just for the sake of blogging. I haven't really written any in the past couple months (my last real blog being my review on Pitch Perfect 2), and I feel this itch to write. But -- since I feel so behind on the things I wanna write about, I'll start with an "update" on what I've been doing these last couple months. I know -- I've mentioned some of these briefly in my monthly recap blogs. I just want to write a bit more about them. Some of the things will probably also show up in my upcoming recap blog.

So I'll just say that this entry may not be interesting for you. I just really wanted to write something -- and hope that I can eventually get back to my old routine of blogging weekly.

Watching Movies

As mentioned before, I've been watching a lot of movies these past months -- in theatres and at home. I partly "blame" my home movie-watching on Bay Street Video, the DVD rental place I mentioned a while ago. There are two reasons for this:

1. See... ever since Kingsman: The Secret Service, I've been trying my best to watch at least one movie with Colin Firth in it every week. That guy -- he is totally my kind of guy, hahaha (at least from the interviews I've seen with him). Anywho, instead of blindly buying all of his DVDs / Blu-Rays (something I would have done years ago), I figured it would be best to rent them first -- and then buy the DVD / Blu-Ray if I really liked it.

2. Bay Street Video has this promotion / service that a part of their collection is free to rent, usually falling under a certain theme. Every couple of months or so the theme changes, so another part of their collection becomes free to rent.

So... most times when I'm there to rent a movie with Colin Firth in it, I also rent two movies from that free promotion / service. And I am totally grateful that they do it!

Now... from the movies I've watched so far with Colin Firth in it (I still have a lot to go through), Kingsman: The Secret Service still stands out. And then King's Speech (oh my, that is such a good movie! And I'm not that big on history). Disappointing to me were the Bridget Jones's Diary movies. The humour didn't really click with me, and I tend to remember a number of close-up shots of Colin with this kind of deer-in-headlights face. I can only imagine that that was the director's desire.

Watching Anime

The only anime series I've watched in the past couple of months was The Book of Bantorra. Frankly, I really enjoyed the idea of the show. I think I would enjoy living in that world. But -- gee... the series can be so brutal to its characters. It's almost like it's screaming for a fanfiction to "right" its "wrongs". Even now I still think of the series and its characters. My favourite characters are Enlike, Noloty, Colio, Ireia Kitty, Mattalast, and Hamutz.

I just started watching an anime series today called Flowers of Evil. The first episode is pretty slow paced and the artwork isn't really like a standard anime (though it suits the series well). So far I am uneasy and unnerved... and intrigued. Here, take a listen to the creepy (yet oddly catchy) ending theme (if you so dare):

"Hana -a last flower" by ASA-CHANG & Junray.

Watching Criminal Minds

I think I mentioned this once in a blog, but I am kinda a big fan of Criminal Minds. I love the psychological angle of the show, and I love the characters in the BAU. For the longest time I had only watched up to the end of Season 5. I recently bought the DVDs for Season 6 and 7 and blasted through them, taking breaks every now and then.

While I love every character on the BAU, my absolute favourites are Emily, Reid, and Penelope.

Trying Out More Video Games

To stick to my New Year's Resolution, I've been trying to expose myself to more video games. This is to see if I want them in my collection or not, especially for my physical games. Of what I tried, I was intrigued by:

-Papers, Please! -- This is a PC game where you play an admissions officer and each day you determine who goes through the gate after sorting through each character's documentations. It doesn't exactly sound like fun, but there's just something about it that is kind of addictive. There are also multiple endings. I already got two, one of them being I didn't make enough money to support myself and gamed over after the 5th day. Never again! Hahaha.

-Fallout -- I have still never played Fallout 3, and I really want to experience the Fallout series from the beginning. I don't know when I would actually start playing this, but I did enjoy trying to create a character -- and then realizing I went to an area I shouldn't have and then running away from all the mobs.

-Senran Kagura Burst -- This is a 3DS game where its main selling "features" are chesty female characters and "clothes shredding". I just find it kinda funny for me to own it, since I'm probably not the game's target demographic. I gotta say though: from what little I've played of it, I do enjoy the gameplay mechanics. The game also retains its Japanese voicing which is a big plus for me.

My Sister's Bridal Shower

So last month was my sister's bridal shower / bachelorette and it was so much fun! We watched Mulan, a movie my sister wanted to watch for a long while now. We also had some bridal shower game going on where each person would take a turn writing a sentence for a story. The story was about how my sister and her fiance first met. The end product was quite funny!

Then we played my and my sister's rendition of Cards Against Humanity, this card game where players take turns reading out question / situation cards and everybody else submits an answer. The best answer gets a point. The player with the most points wins. A week before, my sister and I came up with questions and responses and we got it printed up. It was much tamer than the original Cards Against Humanity, but was more fun and personal to us.

All in all, it was a very fun time.

Playing Final Fantasy XIV's Expansion: Heavensward

Yes, Heavensward came out this month, but I spent the last couple months preparing for it. My main character still had to finish the main story quests. And a couple weeks before Heavensward's early access, I started queuing to clear Turn 9. I wanted to at least beat that before Heavensward came out. I know I could have cleared it wayyy back in December when I was trying on the old JP server, but after switching servers to Masamune, that drive kinda went dormant until recently.

As for Heavensward, I am totally overwhelmed by it, hahaha. Even so, I'm not in a rush to go through it all. If you saw how I played when I first started Final Fantasy XIV: A Realm Reborn, I took my time leveling my Bard to 50, trying to level my crafting and gathering classes at the same time. I even had my crafting or gathering classes hand in some of the main quests so my Bard wouldn't get the experience from it, hahaha. I wonder if I could do that for Heavensward's main quests... hmmm...

Anywho, it's no different this time. I'm trying to level my crafting and gathering classes more than my Bard, while also trying to get my other classes to 50.



And that's it for this blog. Ahh, I feel so much better now. My writing bug has been satiated (for now). If you read to the end, thanks for reading! As always feel free to comment on anything or ask me any questions or anything.

Take care and have yourself a good upcoming week! :)

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.

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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.

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"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.

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"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

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BLOG -- Recap of April

I'm glad the weather is finally getting warmer, despite the crazy days where we still got hail (I mean, what the heck? lol). I am still continuing my movie-watching trend. I'm even surprised with myself.

May is gonna be a very busy month for me -- I can feel it, lol.

Outings/Events in April:

- Stayed over at my sister's place x1. 

- Hung out with friends x1. 

- Went on vacation for a week! Woot! (I'm still on vacation -- I might blog about this for fun).


- Final Fantasy XIV: A Realm Reborn achievements / news: 
-My main character got her zeta bow. Woot! I decided to not rush it this time, since I lost some of my sanity the last time I rushed on getting the latest Relic weapon.
-My main character participated in an Easter event run by another FC. It was pretty fun! I'm glad I logged on at the right time.
-I've finally caught up with the story quests for my main character. Wow... all those cutscenes and plot development.
-My alt character reached level 50 SMN, yayyy. After I reach 50 with another alt character, I think I'll be done with creating new characters -- at least for a while, lol.

Exposures:

- (PS4) Don't Starve: Console Edition -- This is an interesting game. It kinda makes me think of Minecraft, but way more harsh. So far I can't survive past 7 days. I can see myself totally playing this from time to time.

- (Food) Tim Horton's Pastry Pockets filled with Nutella -- This was okay.

- (Food) Tim Horton's Chocolate Hazelnut Donut filled with Nutella -- I really enjoyed the donut, lol.

Finished...

Watching:

- (Movie): Kingsman: The Secret Service -- Yes, I watched this again... and I can still watch it another time! Lol.

- (Movie): Cinderella (live-action) -- This was pretty decent. I've never watched the cartoon version in its entirety, so this was my real first exposure.

- (Movie): Apartment Zero -- I watched this for Colin Firth, lol. It's pretty good.

- (Movie): Horrible Bosses -- I thought the setup was interesting... then I thought differently as the movie continued on. I didn't like it by the end.

- (Movie): Sexy Beast -- This was good. I totally forgot that I had already watched this.

- (Movie): Mad Max -- My sister and I are gearing up for the upcoming movie. Mad Max is a bit slow, but good for setting up the character.

- (Movie): Mad Max 2 (AKA The Road Warriors) -- I liked this more than Mad Max, lol.

- (Movie): Mad Max: Beyond Thunderdome -- It seemed like too much stuff was going on here. I think it would have worked fine if there wasn't as many characters.

- (Movie): Love Actually -- I had no idea this was an R-rated movie, lol. But I liked it a lot. A lot more funnier than I had imagined, and unexpectedly sweet at times. I watched this for Colin Firth, lol.

- (Movie): The Suicide Song -- This was not good. The theme song was really nice, though.

- (Movie): Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy -- I watched this for Colin Firth. It was quite an intense movie. I think it's worth watching at least once.

- (Movie): Nanny McPhee -- I watched this for Colin Firth, lol. It was okay.

- (Movie): A Nightmare on Elm Street -- This was creepy. I don't know why I make myself watch these horror movies, lol.

- (Movie): A Nightmare on Elm Street 2: Freddy's Revenge -- This was also creepy, but not in the same way. I don't think it really worked.

- (Anime): Kokoro Connect (OVA) -- Contrary to the anime series, where I didn't know what to feel about it, I really enjoyed the OVA. It takes place right after the anime series, though, so it'd be good to watch that first.

Playing:

- (PS4): Costume Quest 2 -- This was a pretty fun game.

- (PS4): Thomas was Alone -- This is a really simple and easy-ish game, but I really enjoyed the narration and music. Kudos on this!

- (PS4): Destiny -- I finished the main story so I'll consider it done. I'll probably still pop on there from time to time. 

Reading:

- (Manga): Nothing this time.

Currently... 

Playing (not all at once):

- (PS3): Borderlands 2   
- (3DS): Bravely Default
- (3DS): Liberation Maiden 
- (3DS): Disney Magical World
- (3DS): Pokemon Shuffle
- (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) 
- (Anime): Yu Yu Hakusho (don't remember)
- (Anime): Shakugan no Shana (Season 1 -- Episode 19)
- (Anime): Log Horizon (episode 3)
- (Anime): Book of Bantorra (episode 3)
- (Anime): K-On! Season 2 (episode 7)

Reading:

- Nothing at the time.


That's it for April. Here are several pics I took this month (most of them from Final Fantasy) plus another Kingsman-related Youtube interview I enjoy listening to.

 The chocolate hazelnut donut filled with Nutella. I really like the donut part, mmmmmm...

My main character getting her zeta!

One of the activities for the Easter event (run by an FC on the Masamune server).
I think the activity was called "Hot Lava".

Another activity for the Easter event. This activity was called "Spriggans 4 Life".
Soooo cute!! <3 

One of my outfits from that fashion / lingerie show that 
happened last month (run by the FC I'm part of). I like her "punk" look, lol.

Outfit #2 from the fashion / lingerie show. The standard bikini, lol.

Outfit #3 from the fashion / lingerie show. I think the bunny ears make a nice touch.

Outfit #4 from the fashion / lingerie show. I think this is my favourite outfit.

Outfit #5 from the fashion / lingerie show. I don't remember if I actually showed this at the show, but I had it ready just in case.

Interview with Matthew Vaughn about Kingsman: The Secret Service, 

done by Jonathan Ross. They don't show clips from the movie, 
but there are still spoilers, so don't watch it unless you 
don't mind spoilers or you've watched the movie. 

I really like Matthew Vaughn's bluntness and honesty.

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