Moving On

Heyy yow my dear blog readers! Thanks for stopping by. I've moved to WordPress. 

If you want to read more of my updates (movie&book reviews, food reviews, travel, rants and ramblings) and have a glimpse of my new blog. You can check out the link below:

ofinksandpapers.wordpress.com

Movie Blog: Pacific Rim

**BEWARE: Spoilers!!**

In a word? AWESOMELY-COOL.

Let's be clear, though: The main reason anyone wants to see a movie like Pacific Rim is to watch robots smack the snot out of monsters and vice versa.

Set in the not-too-distant future, Pacific Rim picks up after a string of apocalyptic sea-monster attacks. The movie is based on two simple concepts, the Japanese word ‘Kaiju’ which translates into ‘giant monster’ and the German word ‘Jaeger’ which means ‘hunter’. These initial definitions are given at the on-set of the film, as character Raleigh Becket (Charlie Hunnam) gives a narrative of the world as it is in Pacific Rim. It turns out that a breach in the bottom of the Pacific Ocean has ripped open and loosed an armada of kaiju. Humanity is defenseless against their massive, razor-toothed maws and battering-ram limbs — at least until the military's high-tech Jaeger program is born. The Jaegers are giant humanoid mecha robots operated by two human pilots whose minds are neutrally linked in a process called "the drift". The Jaegers are only as good as their operators, who must be able to read each other's thoughts and intuit each other's next moves. They shared mind would also be an intimate blending of memories of each pilot. How they feel, emote, react would be based on a mental synchronicity. The better the compatibility, the more successful the end result would be of fighting against the Kaiju. The Jaegers would become the global guardians, as an on-going war would continue for the next several years.

Pacific Rim is set in the 2020’s as the audience catches up with the war, how civilization has coped, and what could potentially be the end of humanity as we know it. Did I mention this is the first maybe 15-minutes of the movie? (And I won’t be going beyond that in reviewing this movie.)

The visuals in Pacific Rim are second to none, and Del Toro has outdone himself in creating truly terrifying beasts. The Kaiju, as they are called in the film, are movie-monsters that make Godzilla look like a lumpy beast.

You might think you'd get tired of robots whooping on monsters for two hours, but the action ramps up perfectly throughout the film as the Kaiju “evolve” and force desperate tactics from the so-called Jaegers. The fights are highly engaging. These are fight scenes that you can feel.

Not only does it begin on a fairly dark note, it's also a classic “turn off your brain and enjoy” kind of movie. One aspect of the film that definitely could have been improved upon was the number of plot-holes and inconsistencies. I do my best to suspend my disbelief, but there were some moments in Pacific Rim that is hard to gulp, and I'm not even talking about the idea of mind-melding with someone to control a robot together.

The characters and the situations come right out of comic-book and/or anime stock, giving the actors little to do but represent the old, familiar tropes. And the characters are pretty predictable too - the scientists who are a bit kooky and a comedy double act, Dr. Newton Geiszler (Charlie Day) and Dr. Herman Gottlieb (Burn Gorman) are figuring out a way to defeat the Kaijus. Both of them have different theories and bicker constantly.

Raleigh Becket (Charlie Hunnam) is a predictably hunky choice for the male lead but Rinko Kikuchi (Mako Mori) is a wonderfully unexpected one, and rocks as Mako. She's tough, she's tender and she has cool hair.

Herc Hansen (Max Martini) and Chuck Hansen (Robert Kazinsky) are a father-son duo who operates Striker Eureka (Australian Jaeger). Also in the mix is Hannibal Chau (Ron Perlman), a shady dealer of Kaiju body parts.

Of all the cast, it's Marshall Stacker Pentecost (Idris Elba) who brings some dignity and gravitas to the fore with yet another role showing his talents - he alone stands as tall as the robotic creations which inhabit this world (despite delivering a rousing speech to the troops that we've all seen before).

There is a balance of action, comedy, and a healthy dose of acceptable (or awesome) cheesiness. Del Toro works to satisfy both the adults and children in the audience and for both, you don’t stop enjoying what you are watching. The film is meant to be an adventure. It’s meant to be fun. It’s meant to entertain and leave you with a true sense of wonder.

The only other weakness of Del Toro's film is the character development, but frankly, I didn't go see this movie expecting an Oscar-contender, so I can't really fault him for that. Idris Elba is the big fish in the small pond of characters in this film. He gives a strong performance. The rest of the cast, notably Charlie Hunnam and Rinko Kikuchi, are unremarkable at best.

So if you can forget some plot-holes, unexplained changes of heart, and a little bit of deus ex machina, then Pacific Rim will absolutely blow you away with its visuals. It is a spectacle in the purest sense of the word. Go see it.

There’s a reason to spend extra cash to watch this, better be in 3D for its superb special effects. It’s just a mindlessly fun movie which I enjoyed greatly. And again, yes, you should go watch it. So, here’s the trailer for those who haven’t seen it yet.

11 Little Notes Of Life

From Thought Catalog by Alanda Kariza

I am a great believer of the saying that getting lost allows you to (re)discover yourself. Thus, I travel a lot, and most of the time alone. Sometimes I understand myself better when I get lost between historical buildings that are also landmarks of a city; and I get to love the person inside me stronger when my feet are enjoying the sand and the salty sea situated on one of Indonesia’s coasts. Today, I just finished a 10-day trip to Italy; spent a few days working and the rest, basically, wandering around the old city. Wondering about my life, being drowned amongst the crowds in front of the Spanish Steps. Imagining of the things that could have happened, or could not have happened. Recalling the events that have built my life up onto this moment and made me meet the people I’ve shared my life with; and the (expected) events that did not really make it. Plenty of things have happened, and most of them have given me a bunch of lessons to be learned. I think it would be very important to take note of them. As a reminder.

I was once a very rational person; I used to assess almost everything with my logic to give my heart a thick shield. To prevent it to be broken once again, especially when I have run out of glue to fix it. But then, love happened, and things changed. They changed a lot. But, at times, we just got to go back to square one. And start over. And be rational again.

One day, I might have a look at these notes once again; simply to prevent them from being forgotten. Consider this as a manifesto. Well, I love manifestos. I thought, someday I would have to write one like that. Perhaps that one day is going to be today. (Although these notes would probably only account a bit of it.)

1. Feelings are often real. But the words we use to express them, most of the time, are illusory.

So, carefully think about the words we choose to use. Never say “I love you” just to create an illusion of feelings, nor to make our counterpart love us. The worst of “I love you”s are those that are not wholeheartedly said. Therefore, when you say it; make sure you mean it.

2. Being young is not only about leaving a mark in the world. It is also about letting the world leaves a mark within us.

May it be through an event, or even more, through a person. So go. Fall in love, make mistakes, break your heart, and probably start over.

3. There is no such thing as “unrequited feeling.”

However, perhaps, the level of requital that we get might be higher or lower than our expectations. (Perhaps it’s best not to expect anything at all, and let it be a surprise. Let life surprises you.)

4. When God takes away something you (thought you) have, usually you are going to get something better. However, be grateful of what you have at the moment. Keep it. Protect it. Or you might end up losing something that matters the most in your life.

And try not to regret when that happens, especially when you have failed in protecting it. Let it wander to a better place, a place that would keep it safe.)

5. Never fall in love in your sleep

What usually comes as a dream might suddenly show up as a nightmare. Since then, your sleeps and naps would never be the same anymore. Be in love while you are awake. Be in love knowing the risks you take, the ‘dangers’ you will face. Be in love with a person, not the idea of him/her that you have projected yourself. Be in love with a person, not the idea of him/her that he/she tries to project for you to believe in.

6. (Always) believe that there is probably a person out there who deserves to get the best of you.

You might meet him/her soon.

7.The only person in the world who could make you happy is yourself. Before others.

I usually compliment myself with ice creams too, though. Ice creams make me really happy.

8. Most of the time, feeling exhausted also means that you have not make your life wasted for nothing.

Keep going.

9. The worst feeling that you could ever possess to someone is the feeling of possessing him/her, as if that person is completely yours.

Because you could never, ever “own” a person. You could only be happy when the person you choose to be with also chooses to be with you.

10. Words might hurt you, but words shouldn’t.

You have the sole ownership of yourself, and that includes deciding what kinds of things would offend and would not offend you.

11. Be happy.

Because you only need yourself to be happy, and because you can. Allow yourself to be happy. With or without someone else. Isn’t it such a great feeling to realize that we can be happy on our own? As soon as we have allowed ourselves to be happy on our own, then we can be happy with another person.

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There’s a brief moment when you first wake up where you have no memories --- a blissful blank slate, a happy emptiness. But it doesn’t last long and you remember exactly where you are and what you were trying to forget…Each of us has memories. Good ones and sad ones. Unfortunately, our mind is mostly filled with the sad ones. It’s easier to keep sad memories because it comes with a scar. Good memories come with laughters and they all fade away. Every night, before we sleep, we have to remember all these sad memories because before we sleep, we think about people we care about and miss, but we lost the chance of holding again. Nobody really wants to forget these memories, but nobody wants to remember them either.

“With one blast it had taken out his insides. And that too made her throat ache, although she’d heard of worse things. It was that moment, that one moment, of realizing you were totally empty. He must have felt that. Sometimes, alone in her room in the dark, she thought she knew what it might be like. - Louise Erdrich”

Succumb

It is so hard to feel okay, to look okay and to tell yourself everything's fine and cool when it really is not. There are days when I’ve just given up on myself, given up on all of this, given up on everything that used to matter. I give up because I’m tired of fighting, tired of pretending it’s OK, tired of believing that there are winning moments to wait for. My life lately is a bit of a blur. I don't know where to go...what to do...what I want (to be)... It's really darkness. I see most of the things in obfuscate way now, unclear and not pretty in sight. One day I just knew, that maybe after all the backbreaking, it’s still not good enough. I viewed my way in a vivid positive manner; hence, I shall not fear nor cowardly carry off stuff. I know that there is a bigger story beyond this, that there is so much more bound to happen, that one day I’ll know that I did the right thing. But for today, just for today, I give up. Days have passed, occurrences were in existent, but compare to other days I had throughout this living, nothing was perfect and nothing did ever come grand as I expected it to be. Consequently, I thought, perhaps, I expected gigantically good is going to happen and by which circumvent me afterwards.

I give up today, and hope that I have hope for tomorrow.

"Sometimes there's airplanes I can't jump out
Sometimes there's bllsht that don't work now
We are God of stories, but please tell me
What there is to complain about?
When you're happy like a fool, let it take you over
When everything is out you gotta take it in."