Frozen 2

It is Disney's tradition not to make sequels for their animated movies and they will only allow that when they have good materials which will not end up ruining the original success. With the crazy success of Frozen, it is great to see that Disney is sticking into their success formula and does not simply milk the franchise for the hype.

Considering that Frozen was never planned as a series to begin with, Frozen 2 is well written as a sequel with a plot that expands but not butchers the original story. Frozen 2 explains how Elsa has her magical power and where Elsa and Anna's parents went. The overarching plot of having Elsa and Anna being the queens to bridge Arendelle and Northuldra is nice although the explanation of Elsa being the 5th spirit and all the magic stuff are quite rubbish. The characters stay true to their personalities from the first movie so overall, Frozen 2 really feels like a good sequel and not something forced.

From the trailers, Frozen 2 does not feel like a typical Disney princess movie but more like a fantasy adventure. That is indeed the case and it actually works with the overall mystery and Elsa's magic. However, the execution of the plot is actually bad as a fantasy adventure genre with many things are quite "what the ....?" with things just magically appear as ice sculptures. The climax to the ending feel quite rushed. Well, as a Disney movie, I suppose the plot can be considered acceptable. The downside of going to this fantasy adventure genre is the lack of Disney touch. The movie and characters are way too serious in most parts of the movie. The songs feel more like from a musical: technical and with lyrics tied to the story, unlike usual Disney songs which are catchy, easy to sing, and have universal meanings. In my opinion, songs from the first movie is waaaaaaay better than Frozen 2 songs. I was surprised to find that Kristoff has the best song. I suppose what the cast has been saying in their various interviews that Kristoff has a great song is not a lie. Even so, when I listen the song again, it just feels so so. Definitely there is no other 'Let it Go' from Frozen 2. I suppose the 'song' that will define Frozen 2 will be the siren's "Aa aa aa aah".

Perhaps the most memorable thing from the first Frozen is the whole Let It Go scene which shows off Elsa's singing, architecture, and clothes designing magical abilities. This is replicated in Frozen 2 when Elsa finally reaches Athohallan, except that for the whole segment in Frozen 2 feels like a fail copycat. The song is worse; Instead of building things, she is just tidying up all the random obstacles along her way; And I prefer her blue dress and her hair in Frozen. While Elsa cringes at the memory of her Let It Go, I cringed at this fail attempt to have a throwback to Let It Go.

No doubt that Frozen 2 is a good movie but it is a rather forgettable Disney movie. I don't mind watching Frozen repeatedly for its humour and songs. But Frozen 2? After knowing the story, Frozen 2 does not offer anything outstanding or memorable. Even Frozen Fever is more fun than Frozen 2. Lol. Please, Disney. Stick to the successful formula of your Renaissance era instead of trying to turn everything into MCU.

Maleficent: Mistress of Evil

I wanted to watch on last Tuesday but I reached the cinema late. Even after buffering 15 minutes for the advertisements, the queue for the ticket purchase was too long. Fast forward a week later, I sort of feeling disinterested since it is not based on Disney's story anymore and there is a high chance that this original story is going to suck.

Maleficent Mistress of Evil (let's call it Maleficent 2 to make it easier) is a very confused genre and is a proof that Disney elements and believable real story elements just do not work together. Other than the characters, the whole movie feels more like an action fantasy rather than a Disney princess. There is nothing original about the plot as it revolves about a war between 2 races masterminded by a genocidal antagonist. However, when Disney elements are thrown into the mix, the end product is an incoherent mess: it is too realistic and grim as a Disney movie but it is too childish for a fantasy movie.

Disney will definitely not allow any blood or killing on screen, especially since the characters are still related to the Sleeping Beauty franchise. The final battle is a joke. Just imagine a fantasy war movie but instead of arrows, swords, guns, and magic, the weapons are replaced with fireworks made of flower essence (let's call it flowerwork) which dust the faeries, just like how Thanos dusted half of the universe in the Avengers. I personally think this movie is teaching kids bad things since the antagonists do not get the 'punishment' they deserved. The main antagonist (Queen Ingrith) is only turned into a goat while the mass murderer (Greda) is only hinted to die from a fall from a height -realistically she will not die just from falling from level 2 or 3 of the cathedral. It will be better if the goat is slaughtered and eaten and if Greda is really shown dead.

Another obvious problem is regarding how 'stand alone' or how 'connected' Maleficent 2 is intended in relation to the first movie. Maleficent 2 works just as well as a stand alone movie since the only common thing from the first movie is just the characters. The plot is actually ruined when connection to the first movie is attempted. At the end of Maleficent, Aurora is made queen of her kingdom and the Moors but in this movie her kingdom is just conveniently forgotten. In Maleficent, we know nothing about King Stefan's conflict with Maleficent. Now suddenly we have Queen Ingrith who has always been planning to have a war with the Moors. She has been building her war preparation and yet not doing anything if not because of her son falling in love with Aurora who happens to be in the Moors. How convenient! That is a bad writing..

Angelina Jolie and Michelle Pfeiffer did awesome job. Honestly other than the two of them, the other characters are quite rubbish, useless, and inconsequential. It feels that the story is written based on the two of them and then they put in the others simply as plot points. Other than them, the others are flat in their acting. In fact, overall the movie is lacking in emotion. It is already revealed that Maleficent is descendent of phoenix so her death does not carry any emotional weight since everyone knows phoenix's power is resurrection. The so-called massacre in the chapel or those dusted by the 'flowerwork' is also not sad since it is all CGI creatures that we do not identify with. They just feel like collateral damage. The attempt at comedy is also getting tiring since it is just repeating the same style: Maleficent asking normal chit chat questions but in her scary self that everything sounds like a threat.

After everything I type above, I do not actually hate Maleficent Mistress of Evil and I still sort of enjoyed it. Call it Disney magic :p Everything is quite shitty but if I just lower my expectations since it is a Disney movie, everything becomes acceptable. Hahaha.. I guess this is why those reviews can be completely opposite. Those with expectations of a Disney princess movie will still find the movie a fun ride but those more critical about the plot and characters will find this quite trashy.

The Lion King

The Lion King is the most popular and successful animated movie from Disney Renaissance era. Although it is not my favourite, I have a lot of good childhood memories with its Burger King collectibles, SNES game, and great songs. Interestingly I actually never watched the cartoon in full at all. Hahaha.. I am only familiar with the singing scenes because I have to admit that the Lion King has the best songs. None of the songs is boring, even the villain's song.

Despite the initial hype from the trailer, I have been sick since 2 weeks ago and I sort of getting lazy to watch this. No surprise since I never even bother watching the original cartoon after all. In the end the eagerness returned after I found out that it has exceeded $1 billion in box office.

Although I never watch the original cartoon, I think this "live action" version is almost an exact replica. Surprisingly I find it dull and boring instead of good for staying faithful to the original. While the story is intact, I think the live action fails terribly in the emotion and the vocals. The new animation is amazing and it almost feels like watching a documentary. Unfortunately this causes a mismatch. The animals are so realistic that they just appear emotion-less. Add in the vocals and it feels even weirder.

Other than Circle of Life, the songs which are sung by the animals lack the energy and the fun that the original have. I am excited that Beyonce is voicing Nala but that turns out to be another mismatch. Beyonce's voice is simply too iconic and amazing that when Nala speaks, it sounds like Beyonce acting instead of Nala. She does Can You Feel the Love Tonight too pop-ish and diva-ish that it does not feel romantic at all. Be Prepared is one of the better Disney villain's song and it gets butchered in this live action.

I think it is 50:50 hits and misses. This live action version is missing out elements that make the Lion King special such as young Simba's brattiness, Zazu's personality, the stampede and Mufasa's death, and the final battle. Yet some things are still as nice as the original: the Circle of Life, Timon and Pumba, and Mufasa's voice. However at the end I think that this live action is a step backward from the original. And that comes from me who has a rather low standard since I actually enjoyed Aladdin, Dumbo, Beauty and the Beast, Cinderella, and Maleficent remakes which many find to be terrible.

Spider-man: Far From Home

Spider-man: Far From Home is the first MCU movie post-Endgame so there is a huge curiosity to see where MCU will go from here. It is nice to see some tribute to events in Infinity War and Endgame but Spider-man seems to lack confidence to stand-alone. Tony Stark/Iron Man is gone and yet he is somehow still the main driving point in this movie. Far From Home hinges on Peter's struggle and decision to continue Iron Man's legacy while the antagonists are driven by personal grudges against Tony.

I feel that MCU has reached past its pinnacle in terms of story telling. After time travel that makes Endgame rather messy, Far From Home continues with plot formula that is usually bad for storytelling: illusions. Actually things are still okay until the end of the movie but after the end credits scene, I basically am asking myself and confused: what is real and what is fake. Is Mysterio dead? From the movie, I think he is but with all these illusions, it can be easily changed that he is faking his death. About Nick Fury: which is the real him and which is the fake him (Skrull)?

Despite the weak plot, MCU's winning formula of action and comedy is still going strong. I have to say that some of CGI effects look so obviously CGI-ed so it is kind of an eyesore. There is no actual fight between Spidey and Mysterio so essentially all the fights in the movie is fake. Jeez.. For the comedy, I have nothing bad to say. Some scenes are so funny that the cinema was laughing so loudly that I could not hear the next few lines.

The actors are not as awkward as in the first movie with their chemistry. I do not really like MJ in Homecoming but her character and personality are better developed here. Her chemistry with Peter is also a good mix of awkwardness and attraction.

One random thing that I have to mention is when Nick Fury is nagging to Spider-man, I find him sound very similarly to one of my favorite priest. I laughed when the nagging ends with "the choice is yours" which happens to be that priest's trademark line to end his homily. Lol.

It will be interesting to see how MCU will continue from here. I am hoping that the success will continue although sadly current evidence suggests that it will be difficult to top the original Avengers. In fact, some of the funniest or most memorable scenes in Far From Home are still linked to the original Avengers: Happy throws a shield decoration in a museum to the drone and fails and then he wonders how Captain America can throw shield around so easily; when Spider-man prepares for the final showdown with Mysterio, the two rubbles that he carries look like a reference to Captain America with his shield and Thor's hammer in Endgame. The most touching part for the whole movie is the tribute to the fallen Avengers at the beginning. I felt very sad when I saw Black Widow T_T Why must she die T_T And I am surprised that Captain America is considered dead. Well Captain America's fate at the end of Endgame is still a controversy and confusing thanks to all the time travel stuff.

X-men: Dark Phoenix

Right from the first trailer, I know that the movie will not be good but I never expect that it will turn out to be this crappy. The movie is bad in every aspect. Since the reboot of X-men movies, the actors are nowhere as good as the original X-men trilogy so let's not go into there. The action scenes are so badly CGI-ed and lazily choreographed that they are terribly unacceptable for a superhero genre.

The plot does not even attempt to weave a story and it feels so mechanical for the purpose of having the elements that they want to feature. We start with introduction of how eventually Jean Grey will manifest her Phoenix power, sub-plot drama among Professor X, Mystique, and Beast, Jean Grey losing control and simply flying here and there, aliens appearing to tap into the Phoenix power, sub-plot to somehow put all the characters together under one circumstance so that they can fight together for the 'climax'. Everything feels so disjointed as if there is no head and no tail for the whole story.

It is not surprising that this will be the worst of all X-men movies and will be projected to lose money. For those who hate X-men: The Last Stand (which is also doing Dark Phoenix saga), suck it up :p I don't know why there is so much hate for that movie because I think it is not that bad. Now we get this Dark Phoenix to show what shit really is. Lol.

Despite knowing that this is going to be shit, I still watched it because ultimately this is the last of X-men movie as Marvel has obtained back the rights to X-men. It is quite ironic and sad that the very first X-men movie kickstarted all the superheroes genre and yet it ends with this X-garbage: Dark Rubbish.

Aladdin

For a live action adaptation that received a lot of negativities since the announcement of the actors, this live action movie really proves everyone wrong. Kudos to the actors and especially the director. By far, this is Disney's live action movie that I enjoy the most. I maybe biased because Aladdin is my favourite Disney cartoon but being a huge fan also means I have a high standard of expectations for this adaptation.

Story-wise, this live version Aladdin follows the original cartoon faithfully. Despite the 'bloated' runtime of 128 minutes (compared to 90 minutes of the cartoon), the movie does not feel draggy. There are hits and misses with iconic scenes from the cartoon. I think the opening, when Aladdin is running from the guards, the "Friend Like Me" and the "Prince Ali" scenes are impressive. Sadly the escape from Cave of Wonders, the "A Whole New World", and the climax are nowhere compared to the cartoon.

Some changes are unavoidable but I don't think they ruin the essence of Aladdin. Most of the changes are to make the story more human and less cartoonish. Spoilers alert!

Changes which I think are for betterment of the story and movie:

-Sultan, Jafar, and Jasmine get more story related to palace intrigues unlike in the cartoon where their characters are rather poor: Jafar is evil for the sake of evil, Jasmine is just there as a 'prize to be won', and Sultan does not seem to be governing the nation at all. In the movie, at least we see some governing and politics and we know a bit the reason behind Jafar's ambition.

-Genie's appearance as human definitely suits real life situation to hide his identity as a magical being

-Addition of Dalia (Jasmine's handmaiden) helps to give Jasmine more personality. Although Dalia seems to be more of a comic sidekick, her addition helps to maintain the comedy aspects of the movie.

Changes which I think are shit:

-The climax is worse than the cartoon as it lacks the urgency and the gravity of Jafar's threat. There is no final fight with Jafar turning into giant snake so the climax is literally resolved just by talking. 

-I hate the ending the most. In the cartoon, Sultan changes the law so that the princess can marry anyone she chooses. In the movie, Sultan makes Jasmine as the new Sultan so that she can change the law. What the fuck! I have no problem with Jasmine eventually becoming a Sultan. However by making her a Sultan and ask her to change the law just like that makes the Sultan appear so irresponsible. It also ruins the realism a little bit since prior to this, Jasmine is depicted to know little about governance and politics and yet she can become Sultan just like that.

-For the sake of more realism, we get less of Abu, Carpet, and Iago. While this is understandable, I think this is quite a loss since these three characters are great in the cartoon. And Iago's voice in this movie is an abomination.

-We lose that iconic structure of Agrabah palace :(

The set pieces of the city and palace are amazing but the Cave of Wonders lacks any wonders. I enjoy the music and I don't mind they try to make it a bit different from the cartoon version. However I hate it when they change lyrics of iconic songs. Vocal-wise is where the live action cannot compare with the cartoon. The vocal work during the songs lacks the power, energy, and emotion. The vocal work during Disney Renaissance era is of musicals quality while the vocal work in this live action movie is just like any normal human singing in their daily life.

Acting-wise, I think only Will Smith is doing great as Genie: extravagant enough as a genie but not too-over-the-top or too cartoony. The others are very flat and boring. The emotional moments such as when Jasmine realises Aladdin has been lying, when Aladdin is fighting with Genie, or when Genie is set free are all wasted in the movie. That Genie is free scene in the cartoon still makes me tear when I watch it.

Well nothing can be perfect but overall I am very happy with this live action adaptation of Aladdin. It does not ruin the original story, the changes and additions are generally making the movie better, and it still retains the comedic atmosphere. All in all, I am happy that Disney does not ruin my favourite cartoon :D Hehe...

Avengers: Endgame

Since missing the first day of the advanced ticket sales, I had been in an emo mood since I could not find seats which were not in the first few rows until at least next week. I think the cinemas open more screenings and when I checked for availability again yesterday, I found quite vacant halls for Saturday morning. Luckily as we were discussing about this during lunch, my colleagues asked me to check Tiong Bahru Plaza and I managed to get a ticket for yesterday 615pm. Hehe.. There were only fewer than 10 seats sold when I bought but in the end it was a full house too. So after 1 year of waiting and few weeks of emo-ing, I finally managed to watch Avengers Endgame on the opening day.

I usually love spoilers but I managed to hold myself for Endgame. Lol. The only thing I found out from my friend who already watched was whether there was any ending credits scene. Haha.. I was preparing to hold my bladder and quickly run to the bathroom if there is nothing. So just a warning for those who are reading this but have not watched it, there will be spoilers.

I may be weird and in the minority that find Endgame disappointing. I find it worse than all the previous Avengers movie. Heck, I find it even more boring than Captain Marvel. As Endgame is consider part 2 of Infinity War, comparison is unavoidable. Infinity War is the pinnacle and Endgame fails to better it and feels so anti-climactic. Infinity War feels so well planned and hits all the right notes for the character interactions (despite the massive cast), some epic memorable moments in the fight, and great humour and emotional moments. Endgame is messy and rushed (yes ironic despite it being 3 hours long): unable to do justice to the so many characters both in exposure as well as final fight, hit-and-miss jokes, emotional moments that miss some 'oomph' from poor set up leading to those moments, and uurgh plot.

As expected since the first time I read the rumours about time travel, the story is going to be messy and non-sensical. I am not going to nit pick on that since the movie's explanation is that time runs differently due to quantum realm. Thus even by taking Infinity Stones from the past, using them for some time in present timeline, they still can return it to the exact time when they 'borrow' it from the past. That is fair enough. However, it is ridiculous not to address how changes in the past will affect their future self with the most jarring example: present time Nebula kills Nebula from the past without erasing her own existence.

Time travel aside, the main plot is also terrible as a lot of characters seem to be out of their character and they are just used as convenience plot devices. I am okay with them emo-ing over the snap bla bla bla but what happen during the 5 year jump? Do everyone just move on and do nothing until suddenly when Ant-man comes back, everyone is suddenly interested in Thanos again? Time travel is not Bruce and Tony's expertise but after this mention about time vortex, within a few days they are able to device a plan. Bleah.. convenient but rubbish.

Captain Marvel is the latest edition to the team and her involvement in Endgame is crap too.Without watching the ending credits of Captain Marvel, we will not even know how she returns to earth. Well even in Endgame, we still don't know how eventually she is 'accepted' as part of the team, how she finds the spaceship that Tony and Nebula is stranded, how she just disappears after the first fight with Thanos and how she simply reappears again at the final fight. While for the characters who return from the snap, they are just shown for a few seconds just to remind us the audience that they are present and they have returned. That is the biggest letdown for me. Even the long awaited "Avengers Assemble" rally is so weak and uninspiring (the tease at the end Age of Ultron feels more inspiring). The final battle is essentially a repeat of the final battle in Infinity. They have all the opportunities to make the fights better, after all it can be seen as a 'revenge' from the snapped characters, but nope.. none of that.

Endgame can be summarised as a trip down memory lane. We get to revisit the old movies from different angles and fill in the emotional missing moments that the characters in the present timeline never get to experience (such as Thor and his mum, Ironman and his dad at a timeline where Tony was not even born, Steve and Peggy Carter at a timeline where Steve was still frozen). It also provides a good closure for the pioneers to exit the movie but the meaning is sort of lost because there is not enough build up and follow up after Black Widow and Ironman's deaths and Captain America's growing old (which actually is completely out of character for him to be that 'selfish'). Some fanservice easter eggs moments, especially for those who read the comics such as Captain America's "Hail Hydra!", Captain America's wielding Mjolnir, Pepper join the final fight with Rescue Armor, New Asgard, Falcon to take up the mantle of Captain America, Professor Hulk, and so on).

In conclusion, I think that the movie makers begin with the main goals of nostalgia and providing closures for the 3 Avengers mentioned above and the rest of the elements is fitted in where and when necessary resulting in all this mess. Great conclusion to the whole MCU storyline since the first Ironman movie in 2008? Yes! Great movie on its own? Nah.. I would say it is quite rubbish as a stand alone movie.

All that hype and waiting for one year ends with tears for me.. too bad it is not emotional happy or touched tears but tears of disappointment. The Avengers and MCU have definitely become part of history in film making and cinema industry. With a closure like this, I am not that positive on the future direction of MCU. They have messed around with time travel, written characters out of characters, and brought characters back from 'fake' death (aka Thanos' snap) so there is nothing stopping them from going full comic book mode with retcons and bringing back characters from real death.

Dumbo

I never watch the original Dumbo cartoon. I only know that it is the shortest Disney's cartoon with run time of merely 64 minutes and it has the racism issue with the crows. I did not really get the hype from the promotional materials as the CGI Dumbo looks rather scary: not as cute as the cartoon version and not as realistic as real elephants. Nonetheless Dumbo has a special place in my heart as it is one of my childhood plushies and that is my main reason of watching this live action version.

I think this live action Dumbo (subsequently I will just refer it as Dumbo) successfully adopts and modernises the story. Initially I was expecting the increased roles of the human characters will dilute or even destroy the overall focus on Dumbo. Fiuh.. thank goodness the human characters actually help to drive the plot without ruining the overall story.

The overall theme of Dumbo is faithful to the original cartoon while it expands on certain parts to make the movie have more adventurous slant. Instead of having Dumbo flying for the sake of flying, Dumbo is given a motivation: fly so that the circus can earn money to buy back Mrs Jumbo. Although things get bigger and seem to get messier at the Dreamland (is this meant to be a subtle poking at Disneyland), the main purpose of reuniting Dumbo with Mrs Jumbo stays. Thus I think the adventure part of the movie is a nice touch to make the movie more interesting to watch while still staying true to the overall theme of the cartoon. I am also impressed with the ending as Mrs Jumbo and Dumbo are back in the wild to be with an elephant herd. I find that a forward thinking and modern move instead of going to the direction of animal-human bond and Dumbo stays at the circus.

The homage to iconic elements of the cartoon is also done tastefully and believably. Few examples are the circus performance of burning building and Dumbo flies to spray water and extinguish the fire, the 'magical' feather (here Dumbo needs the feather to sneeze to initiate his flight), the pink elephants sequence (here Dumbo is not drunk but the pink elephants are part of the circus bubble performance), and Timothy mouse (albeit is just an 'easter egg').

Sadly Dumbo falls apart with the failure of exploring the human characters. The bonds between the kids and Dumbo and subsequently between Dumbo and Colette (the trapeze artist who rides Dumbo) are not explored. The bonds and trust are established within a few scenes which is not believable. Similarly with Holt and his kids, from the beginning until the end of the movie, I do not feel any development in their relationship as a family. The Medici circus' unity at the climax at the movie also does not come naturally as we never feel that they are that close bonded to begin with. The biggest loss is for Timothy. Timothy is such an important friend of Dumbo in the cartoon and here they are only in one scene together with no interaction. Yes I know elephants and mouse do not speak in real life but why cannot they be friends? I mean at least to live together and to play together or something.

While I am glad the live action does not ruin Dumbo, I think Dumbo is quite a bad movie relative to the previous Disney live action remakes. I never watch the Jungle Book and Alice in Wonderland but I kind of enjoyed Beauty of the Beast, Maleficent, and Cinderella. Dumbo is more on the 'meh' part which is a huge wasted opportunity as animal-human stories always have the potential to be heartwarming and amazing.

And to close this with an even emo mood, I miss my Dumbo plushie that my mum 'threw' away. How could she send it for dry cleaning but forgot to collect? T_T My heart hurts every time I remember this as it feels like a part of my childhood is gone. It has been 9 years and yet it still hurts.

Bye my Dumbo. I hope you have found your wildlife jungle too T_T

Captain Marvel

Single superhero movie and an origin story are the perfect components of a boring movie that I usually avoid watching. The trailers did not get me excited at all. Well except for the part where she punches the old lady in the train but that is not a good enough reason to make me want to watch the movie. I asked my friend who watched it on the opening night and he said it was boring. He is more into superhero movie than me so things really looking not so good. At the end of the day, we all know that Captain Marvel will appear in the Avengers: Endgame and somehow the hype for Avengers: Endgame is the reason for me decided to watch.

Once you are able to accept that it is unavoidable that an origin story will tend to be boring, Captain Marvel is not as bad as expected or as what people say. While it is not fantastic either, I think it is okay and is still quite enjoyable. Perhaps it is our expectations that are getting higher.

Although it is wedged between Infinity War and Endgame, Captain Marvel is a still a well-thought standalone movie. The story is substantial enough on its own and it does not suffer from simply filling in the gaps or feeding in information with respect to the other movies in the MCU. Nick Fury and the Tesseract are the only two things in common from Captain Marvel and the present MCU. The Tesseract is not connected to the Infinity Stone at all while the Nick Fury part at least gives us more glimpse on why this guy is unfazed and not freaking out to see aliens invading the Earth (in the first Avengers movie) as he has been caught in between of an intergalactic war between 2 alien races. These things enrich the MCU without taking away or affecting Captain Marvel too much as a movie. MCU solid plot across the movies and across the years is also seen in the explanation of Captain Marvel's absence from earth all these while. It feels believable and still gels with what Captain Marvel movie is all about, rather than something that is being forced along the way to fit into MCU.

Unfortunately, that solid plot across the universe does not translate to solid plot for this movie. The back story on how Captain Marvel gets her superpower is quite wtf. Considering at the start she lost the memory of her earthy life, the way she navigates in the earth while searching for information does not feel as if she is new to earth. The lead up to the climax is also kinda convenient. For someone who just realised that she had been brainwashed all her life, she simply believed all the stories she heard from people she just met as truth. If I know that I have been brainwashed, I will definitely have some trust issues.

I am not sure if I like the changes made from the universe in the comics. In the comics, the Krees and the Skrulls have been at war for the longest time and it is unclear who is good or bad as both are simply threats to the earth. The movie changes this as the Skrulls are depicted to be the good side and trying to escape the Krees' annihilation and their only aim is to preserve their race. This is the first time we see the Krees and Skrulls in the MCU so as long as this change is good for the overarching future stories, I think I can live with that. However, I am irritated that Mar-Vell is gender swapped to a female. Nothing against the females but I just generally hate gender swaps whether it is in comics, animes, movies, books, etc compared to the original materials. You can find and exercise your creativity in many better ways.

It has been mentioned that Captain Marvel is the strongest superhero in MCU and we really get a glimpse of this. She basically can go super saiyan in the outer space without requiring any special equipments and then single handedly destroy alien ships and swat off alien army from attacking the earth. That outer space scene looks sleek and after catching a glimpse of the behind the scenes, it is not surprising: Brie Larson was hoisted to a horizontal pole which can be turned/rotated/directed and then she struck the all the cool fighting and flying poses.

The biggest surprise and the most exciting part of the movie for me is the mid-ending credit scene where we get the first glimpse of Captain Marvel's encounter with the remaining Avengers after the events in the Infinity War. Seriously this makes my friends and I even more hyped for Endgame. I guess this just reinforces what I said in the first paragraph lol.

Being the first Marvel movie to be released after Stan Lee's passing, it is a very touching tribute that instead of using the usual MCU opening sequence showing the various superheroes, the MCU opening sequence for Captain Marvel shows Stan Lee's previous cameos. He will definitely missed and lets hope the new generation of writers do not destroy his legacy.

For now, it is about 6 more weeks until the Avengers: Endgame. The hype is real and I really cannot wait :D

Growing up and moving on

With CNY is around the corner, there is no more excuse but to do spring cleaning. I finally said goodbye to my university lecture notes as by now the information is almost a decade old and outdated. Honestly, the more important reasons are that they are not that relevant anymore for my job now and I have access to more up-to-date references in case I need to check something out.

Although I said spring cleaning, what I did was very minimal. I mainly dusted off my Tsume statues, which was last dusted maybe in September last year o_0, and shifted around my table to give space for the incoming Aiolos statue. Usually cleaning my figurines spark joy in me but it seems that I am growing tired of them :( It is not that I start to dislike my figurines but after owning them for some years, I have to accept that nothing lasts forever and things start to break apart. Haiz.. Not to mention that Tsume does not have that good quality to begin with. No doubt they have great design but the quality sucks is a fact. Shiryu's dragons have parts with paints coming off, Ikki's breastplate cracked (I don't know if it is already there since the first time and I only realise it now) and the part that connect the phoenix wings to his back broke,  and Shaka's cloth is losing its gold and shine. Aiolia is still pretty new and thank God has no issue yet. 

These statues are barely 5 years old and it is extremely disappointing that they do not age well. In comparison, I have Final Fantasy VIII Kotobukiya cold cast figures which are almost 2 decades old now and they are still great. Kinda regret getting them now but I suppose the lesson is really to stop buying already. Another big shock for me is that due to the weight of these statues, my table top starts to 'collapse' T_T Aaaargh.. why are these things making me miserable instead of giving me happiness?

I tried to catch up with Final Fantasy Mobius in the past week as the FF VII Collaboration Event ended on 31 Jan. I did not complete it in the end but I managed to use up the summon tickets that I had been hoarding for more than a year. While my gacha luck sucks as always, I am happy that finally I can get Squall's Balamb Mercenary job. Hehe.. I am quite biased because previously I only posted Zidane previously. I never posted Tidus (which was bought with real money) as well as Cloud and Lightning (which I do not really like as characters). Lol.

Ready for the FF VIII Collaboration Event now

I am getting super cranky over my new year resolution: DIET. I manage to tahan since my last 'failure' 2 weeks ago but without all the internal and mental war every 5 days in the supermarket when I buy my bread for breakfast. The temptation to get potato chips is so huge and with CNY around the corner, the temptation to make the public holidays as cheat days is even more potent. Not to mention that it is demoralising that I still get new pimples despite the abstinence and for no reason I feel so hungry and weak for the past 2 days that I had to order food for dinner instead of relying on my cereal.

In memory of Aloysius Pang, his movie Young and Fabulous is re-released in limited screens this week. I wanted to watch on Friday but I could not reach AMK on time. I thought I would miss it but somehow by luck, I managed to watch it today. I will not support if this is just something to make profit from his passing. However since this whole re-release thing as a tribute is with blessings of his family and the proceeds will go to his family, re-watching it is my way to show my support. My opinion does not change from when I watched it the first time in 2016: a funny movie but lack originality. Nevertheless, his passing makes watching the movie feel very bitter sweet now.

And somehow I am also overcome with the realisation that this coming CNY will be the first CNY without calling my grandma T_T Life and death are unpredictable. It is ironic that we often take people for granted when they are alive and then only subsequently realise their importance to us after they are gone. Oh well =X

I do not consider myself celebrating CNY so usually I am not too bothered with CNY advertisement. This one, however, strikes closer to my heart as it is about children studying overseas. Everything is believable except for the part that the parents help to pack the suitcases. Lol. That never happened to me.

Aquaman

I do not normally watch single superhero movies and I am not that into DC movies. An ex-colleague had an expiring Shaw House movie ticket to be used by end January. With the hype around Aquaman about hitting $1b box-office and a show time that fitted well to my schedule, I decided to give Aquaman a chance.

When I first saw the trailer for Aquaman few months ago, I was turned off by the CGI quality which I found was very jarring and gave me the impression of watching a cartoon/CGI movie. I changed my mind after watching the movie as I no longer had that impression during the movie. The CGI looks well made and believable and I am honestly very impressed with the fine details such as the movement of the hair during the underwater scenes. The effects to depict Atlantis and the underwater world nicely contrast with the abovewater world (if there is such a word) and I find that CGI in Wonder Woman and Justice League to be more "memorable" aka jarring. Hahaha...

I am not going to nitpick on the plot because honestly how interesting can a superhero origin story be. Yes, Aquaman tries to avoid the typical origin story since it is already established that Aquaman played a role in saving the world from Steppenwolf (in Justice League movie). However, it is still an origin story since this movie essentially introduces how Aquaman becomes the King of Atlantis and his back story which includes how his parents meet, how he trains, and so on. I finally get my answer on why Aquaman has not been depicted with this iconic orange top and green outfit so far. It is because he only takes up this appearance after he becomes the King of Atlantis. There is no new subplots as all the available subplots have been used in every other superheroes or fantasy movies from battling for the throne, killing other kings to secure an alliance from their kingdoms, finding a missing ancient kingdom, getting an ancient treasure/artifact that imbues super power of the very first king, and so on. You can't make these any more creative and interesting. However, there is one sub-plot that really irks me: the Black Manta. His origin story for revenge towards Aquaman is okay but how he gets his power and technology from King Orm. King Orm hates the humans and abovewater world so much and I find it nonsensical for him to give a human Atlantean secrets and technology even if it is to kill Aquaman.

The actions scenes are not that memorable although I enjoy watching pretty girls kicking ass. I am referring to Queen Atlanna and Mera especially when they fight in the land when it feels more action than CGI. Sadly Queen Atlanna does not get any more fighting scenes after that. It would be nice to see some depiction on how she survives the Trench and reaches the Hidden Sea. I was wondering why Queen Atlanna looked so familiar but I could not remember where I saw her previously. After checking google, AAAH no wonder, it is Nicole Kidman!! So exciting. I  think she is really pretty. Amber Heard (who plays Mera) is pretty too but her hair is not red in real life so I think somehow the red hair somehow enhances her beauty for the movie. For Nicole Kidman though, she just looks as beautiful in real life as in the movie hehe..

Clearly DC has finally realised that being dark and edgy is not really a success formula so Aquaman is trying to inject some humour to lighten the atmosphere. It does not go all out like to Marvel level of hilarity (which is something not easy to do) and it is just one funny line here and there out of nowhere. Some criticise this as "trying too hard" but I think it is passable: not really corny to change the overall tone of the movie.

For me, what sets Aquaman apart is suprise surprise: loyalty, love and family values. I find it so touching that Tom Curry is still waiting at the dock everyday to wait for Atlanna's promise to return to see him some day even after all these years. The monarchy is also not just about killing one another: Aquaman and Orm still recognise their bond as half-brothers despite their conflict and both love their mother instead of fighting over who the better son is, Vulko's loyalty (he does not outright plot a nasty scheme despite his disagreement with Orm's plan), Orm simply imprisons Vulko instead of executing him for his 'betrayal', and at the end the reunion of Atlanna, Aquaman, and Orm is lovely. Fiuh.. a good thing that it does not turn out to be royal blood bath like the Game of Thrones or something.

Overall I find Aquaman enjoyable and I am not surprised that it has created such a ripple in the box office. Nevertheless, it is still something I will not watch more than once as nothing is really outstanding from the story, the fight, and the characters.

Ralph Breaks the Internet

Ralph Breaks the Internet is a sequel of Wreck-It Ralph which somehow is not called Wreck-It Ralph 2. Year 2018 has been a terrible year for sequels after the disappointing Fantastic Beasts and The Incredibles 2. Thank goodness despite all the hype, Ralph Breaks the Internet does not bomb.

It is surprising that Ralph Breaks the Internet turns out to be a good, funny, and refreshing movie despite following exactly the same formula as the first movie. I remember Wreck-It Ralph originally got all the hype from featuring cameos from various games but it turned out to be a good movie with surprising twists and outcomes. For the sequel, just replace the game character cameos to Disney Princesses. In fact, it is quite ironic that the game character cameos are more prominent in this sequel compared to the first movie in which many just pass by on the screen for brief moments.

From the trailers, there are a lot of reasons to fear that Ralph Breaks the Internet would be a shit movie. They hardly features the series' original characters such as Fix-It Felix and Calhoun as Disney Princesses do most of the advertising suggesting that Disney might be banking only on their past successes. The visualisation of the internet, as amazing as it looks, reminds people of the shitty Emoji Movie from last year.

Thank goodness in the actual movie the Disney stuff is just a small part although most of the comedy relies on making fun of the Disney Princesses' tropes. The depiction of the internet life is also funny as it reflects our daily lives on the internet aptly. That means the original material sucks which.. well.. is true. That is the problem when the main characters suck. Ralph is ok but Vanellope is just an irritating brat. Other original characters e.g. Fix-It Felix, Calhoun, Shank, Yesss are actually quite interesting and better than Vanellope.

The plot is quite weak: Ralph and Vanellope go to the internet to find replacement steering wheel for Sugar Rush arcade machine from eBay. The middle of the movie is simply all the humour and satire with the internet and Disney stuff. The build up to the climax feels too abrupt and forced and what makes it worse, it is so out of character for Ralph wanting to introduce virus to Slaughter Race just to get Vanellope to find the game boring. All along Ralph's personality is more towards kind rather than being bad, cunning, or malicious. That is quite a waste because I think the actual part of 'breaking the internet' is quite apt and there are moments that give superhero movie kind of feel. 

The friendship thingy towards the end also feels forced as the fight and reconciliation are too sudden and random. I think the whole friendship theme fails from the start as I cannot sense any good friendship or chemistry between Ralph and Vanellope. Once again the movie ends by breaking cliche with Vanellope not returning to Sugar Rush. Well, that just cements her character as an irritating brat.

Nevertheless I think Ralph Breaks the Internet is still a very enjoyable movie. Initially I expect that Disney Princesses will save a terrible movie but it turns out that they make a good movie better. I would think that the Disney stuff is just the topping although no doubt they are the stars as they do the heavy lifting of the comedy as well as the action parts. The trailers reveal almost all the scenes involving Princesses so they reduce the surprise value a little bit. If the trailers never reveal that much, I am sure we will be laughing harder.

I am pretty sure that Ralph not only breaks the internet but will also break the box office. However, I still hope Disney will end the franchise here. The plot and story are already very weak here and continuing with another sequel will just breaking the franchise. I also hope that Disney will never consider Vanellope as a Disney Princess because she sucks. Lastly, I have a big question if the frog that kisses Ralph at the end of the climax is Prince Naveen from the Princess and the Frog. Lol.

Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald

Compared to Harry Potter series, many find the first Fantastic Beasts movie not that fantastic. Yet I still find it enjoyable with like-able characters and pretty nice approach of featuring the beasts (to match the title) and still have the plot on Grindelwald coming a long. Since the first trailer for the Crimes of Grindelwald was released, I am so excited and hyped for the movie. I just watched it and sadly I have to agree with critics who say that this is just a cash grab to milk the success of Harry Potter.

The Crimes of Grindelwald is a huge disappointment. The story is weak and the characters seemingly do things and make decisions any good reasons. Why is everyone suddenly interested in finding Credence? They do not even seem surprised and wonder how Credence survived and end up in Paris. Why do Queenie and Jacob go to London? How does Queenie turn upside down from her character in the first movie? I can go on and on with other characters. So it feels like these are just being randomly put together to make the story happen. In fact, I don't sense any threat from Grindelwald and any motivation from the characters to stop him. That is supposed to be the main plot driving the story, isn't it?

There are so many characters that it is difficult to keep track and the movie does not even bother to introduce who these people are to begin with. Sadly the characters are underdeveloped and the potential of having interesting characters end up becoming a crowded movie with forgettable characters. Even the 4 main characters from the first movie do not feel like main characters here.

The revelation that Credence is Aurelius Dumbledore and hence possibly Albus Dumbledore's brother is shocking since it is established in Harry Potter that Dumbledore's siblings are Aberforth and Ariana. I hope JK Rowling ultimately has a good plot twist regarding this Aurelius. If this turns out to be some retcon, I think she is just destroying the whole Harry Potter universe that is already perfectly crafted before all this Fantastic Beasts mess.

I think they can drop the 'Fantastic Beasts' tag for the subsequent movies. I already find not enough creatures in the first movie and they are almost non-existent in this movie. Some are simply squeezed in just to fulfil the title that there are beasts in the movie.

The Crimes of Grindelwald is supposed to be darker than the first movie but thanks to the poor story, I don't see any conflict or any climax in the movie. There is hardly any nice action/fight scenes. The escape of Grindelwald is underwhelming and the supposedly climactic showdown ends up as boring CGI with no fight whatsoever which is even worse than anime or cartoon fight scenes.

Clearly I am very disappointed with the movie and I cannot even find one good thing that I like from the movie. I was so eager to get the screenplay book, the book on the movie making, and the wands after the first movie but I am feeling none of this now. In my opinion, there is no story, no action, no magic, and nothing fantastic from Fantastic Beasts and the Crimes of Grindelwald. 

Crazy Rich Asians

Crazy Rich Asians has generated a lot of hype so the chance of not meeting the high expectations is high lol. A lot of criticisms come from people who treat this as a documentary of life in Singapore. For goodness sake, people should separate fiction from non-fiction. I am not bothered about the factual accuracy as this is a work of fiction. I am more bothered with some scenes which feel like advertisement by Singapore Tourism Board (STB). I do not normally watch rom-coms but as the first Hollywood movie which features a lot of Singapore, it will be interesting to see how Hollywood depicts the place I live in. In addition, I would like to step out of reality for a while to see what my life could have been if I were a crazy rich Asian.

I actually enjoy the movie more than I expected. Despite the over-the-top displays of wealth, they are still not unimaginable. The characters and the conflicts/issues/problems faced by them are truly Asian. I am not crazy rich (I am not even a rich) but as a Chinese, I can vouch for the accuracy of the Asian values depicted in the movie. Filial piety, family traditions, and upholding to family expectations/standards are real life matters that we have to deal with, no matter how rich, how 'westernised', or how modern the young generations will be.

There so many things that happen in the movie that I am also facing. I have been living away from my parents for years and growing up in Singapore exposes me to more westernised or modern way of thinking. With me hitting the marriage-able age, I can relate to what Nick and Rachel are experiencing. No matter how 'banana' we are, as Asians, we still uphold family values as something important in our life. My mum and even my aunts share the same sentiment as Eleanor: when a girl gets married, the girl is expected to be part of the guy's family and putting love aside, it is all about 'sacrificing' for the guy for the marriage.

The 'competition' over who is richer etc may seem crazy but unfortunately for Asians, comparing status/wealth is a reality of life. I am personally not finding a girlfriend because I am overly conscious with my homeless status here. Where will I stay after wedding? Or even before wedding, which parents will allow their daughter to get married to a homeless guy? Sigh..

As a rom com, I think the romantic part may be lacking a little bit although the comedy part is quite well executed. Not that I mind about it since I enjoy laughing more than seeing people make love. Haha..

I am glad that Crazy Rich Asians does not disappoint and stands up to the hype. Although it is a fiction, both the 'crazy' and the 'rich' aspects are still realistic and relate-able. Some parts of the acting feel a bit raw and awkward but overall I still think the acting is alright. No doubt the star here is Michelle Yeoh who plays Nick's mom. I don't know how she does it but somehow she is able to behave similarly cold throughout the movie yet I can feel the mother's affection to Nick vs her dislike to Rachel. I hope the movie does well because there are rumours that a sequel maybe planned. If there is a sequel, I will definitely look forward to it. Until then, let's see if I am curious enough to read the book.

Christopher Robin

My elder sister is a huge Winnie the Pooh fan. Her first plushie is Winnie the Pooh and when we were kids, we always consider this Pooh as boyfriend for my Toki bunny plushie. If not because of these beautiful childhood memories, no way I would be interested in Winnie the Pooh :p Haha.. Honestly until now I don't think Pooh or any of his friends are cute.

I did not really enjoy Maleficent but the movie gives a new perspective on this very cool villain and who can hate Angelina Jolie here, Cinderella was magical and modernised her outdated damsel-in-distress image from the 1950s, while Beauty and the Beast was simply a beast in showing the greatness of Disney's Renaissance era even outside its original format that we all grow to love with. I skipped the Jungle Book though lol although it also garnered rave reviews. With such great predecessors, I was still excited when Pooh was announced to be the next Disney's live action.

I was disappointed when seeing the trailer for the first time as the characters looked nothing like the cartoon and Pooh and friends also appear so short and disproportionate next to Christopher Robin. Essentially it was quite far off from the feel I get from the cartoon. I suppose Disney did great advertising because after getting more exposure, I think the choice of muting down the colours for Pooh and friends is good to blend the characters in real world and make them less cartoonish as they are supposed to be real animals, not stuffed dolls that come to live in Christopher Robin's imagination. I am so used with Christopher Robin's as a kid and how he interacts with Pooh and friends. Pooh is about half the height of Christopher Robin as a boy. So with Christopher Robin is an adult in this live action, the size of Pooh and friends is consistent.

As far as story telling goes, Christopher Robin is kind of bland: he is an adult now, he is busy with his career, he forgets about his childhood friend, and somehow something happens in between to make him remember the good old times. Unfortunately, the "somehow something happens" part is boring and not adventurous enough. The personality of Pooh and friends shines through but I am expecting more touching interaction between them and Christopher Robin as he spends more time only with Pooh.

However, given my current circumstances, this is the first movie that made me cry right from the start and almost until towards the end. It makes me remember my childhood days with my soft toys and that makes me real nostalgic. If only my soft toys can come alive, I will be so happy. Christopher Robin gives very good message for us not to sacrifice the present and the things that really matter in life (e.g family, friends, enjoyment, holidays) for the sake of work/career or the future.

So do not call me a small kid or childish to still want play and collect toys or to spend most my holiday in Japan to be at Disneyland :p Work life balance and finding happiness in life are my priorities at this point of time.

Incredibles 2

The Incredibles came out in 2004 and I found it groundbreaking with the theme: what if superheroes do exist in real life? Not only it deals with the usual superheroes stuff, the family theme makes the struggles more believable. It took more than a decade for Incredibles 2 and I am definitely very hyped about it.

I am not sure if I have grown up or Incredibles 2 simply lacks the novelty factor that the original has as I do not enjoy it as much as the first one. Incredibles 2 still deals with present world family issue when mum has to work and dad has to take care of kids at home. Other than this, it basically reuses whatever has been used in the Incredibles, except that this time is saving the mum instead of the dad. The characters do not exactly develop and nothing new is offered from them so seeing the same powers like in the first movie no longer extract the same sense of wonder. The conflict/threat presented seems too personal or small scale for a superhero movie and I honestly cannot be bothered about "whether superheroes are legal or not" compared to a "threat to humanity or world destruction" for example. The action scenes are not that action-packed and I do not get any adrenaline rush. Perhaps the saving grace for this movie is Edna Mode and Jack Jack but they do not get enough screen time to actually make me enjoy this movie.

I had high hope for this movie and I was hoping that this movie could help to uplift my mood a little bit. Nah..

Love, Simon

I knew about this movie since March from Youtube React channel. The movie is only released in Singapore in May so in the 2 months, there are a lot of good reviews. I do not think the trailer is that interesting (despite a few funny scenes) but I am quite surprised that the rating at GV website is also very good which is what makes me decide to watch. I am usually not a fan of rom-com but I don't mind watching those that people say touching and will make you cry. I suppose it is quite similar to The Fault in Our Stars that I eventually watched because of the audience reviews although I was not really interested with the synopsis or the trailer.

I did not really get emotional after watching Love, Simon. I still had a good time watching though. The depiction of high school life, the friendships, and the conflicts among friends are depicted are quite realistic and believable. The conflicts are not dramatised too badly as ultimately how bad can high school friends towards one another be.

There are plenty of things that drive the plot which do not make sense in real life. Who on earth will use public computer in school library for personal email when we have our phones 24/7? Who will fall in love with a stranger just from email conversation without even knowing who the actual person is? The fight and the reconciliation between Simon and friends are also a bit too 'forced' and hasty. One scene they just fight and they are back as friends again at the other scene without even any words of apologies. Jeez.

This is one movie that I regret knowing the spoilers first. Ooops.. There is a mystery of finding out Blue's identity and it is quite funny to see Simon imagining different friends as Blue throughout the movie. But because I already know who Blue is, those scenes and this mystery part do not really grab my attention.

One thing that strikes me the most is the words from Simon's mother. Keeping something secret is indeed like holding own breath. It sucks to live this way. I am experiencing something similar at work. A leader is expected to be strong, to be role model, and so on and so forth. I am so tired of acting and pretending to be all that just to meet these external expectations. I end up bottling things inside and implode instead of just explode and express my unhappiness. After telling my colleagues that I wanted to speak to my boss that I do not want to be a manager anymore, I feel much more relieved. I get to share what is burdening me and I get to be myself again. The only thing left now is for an opportunity of face-to-face meet up with my boss to really say this. At this point of time, I have decided to say it. I do not care the impact on future career bla bla bla because ultimately I have decided that the most important thing to me is personal happiness and personal health.

Avengers: Infinity War

After many months, the hype is real and the wait is finally over. It is quite amazing that I managed to restrain myself from watching on the premiere day and it was a mistake. I felt so miserable for the few days as my plan was to watch the movie today with few colleagues. I ran out of patience and today was my second time watching lol. I decided to watch it first yesterday hahaha..

I am so glad that Avengers: Infinity War is not an overhype since it lives to the hype. There are so many surprises which are completely different from what fans have been theorizing and guessing all these few months. While there are homages to the Infinity Gauntlet comic, a lot of things are not identical to the comic which makes the movie still exciting to fans.

With so many characters and side stories of what each of them is doing, time is not in their favour. The story is way too big even with splitting the story into 2 movies and the first movie is already running for more than 2.5 hours. The movie still feels too short. With all the hoo hah with Thanos, I am expecting more scenes to show his power and might like how he destroys Xandar and Knowhere to get the Infinity Stones instead of simply showing the 'aftermath'. Similarly the movie opens with Asgardian's ship already in crap instead of showing more action. The movie successfully depicts Thanos as an enemy with a 'noble' aim instead of typical antagonists who kill for the sake of killing. The movie could have spent more time giving more back story for Thanos to give him more relatable and understandable personality. 

The fights are still exciting and the characters interactions are still amusing. However as the movie progresses to introduce more people and stories, it gets more and more choppy and jumpy and that is one thing that I think is not well done. The fight at Titan and at Wakanda can be considered the climax and because of the constant scene jumping, both just lose their climatic feel and the fights do not give the same satisfaction as the previous Avengers movies.

A major plot hole is with the relative strengths of the characters. With Thanos so strong and in possession of few Infinity Stones, why would not he simply use their power and kill everyone? Why is he still bothered to entertain fist-to-fist combats? Vision is reduced to some lousy android but hey he owns the Mind Stone, man! In the Age of Ultron movie and in the comics, Vision is one of the more powerful superheroes. Scarlet Witch is another character that suffers from this power scale inconsistency. Remember what she can do in Age of Ultron and if she has the power to destroy the Mind Stone at the same time with resisting Thanos who is already wielding te other 5 Stones, what she is doing in the whole movie is best summarised with what Okoye says: what was she up there (in the lab) all this time (instead of fighting)?

I feel that Marvel is good only with war with faceless armies. I expect the Black Order to be formidable enemies worth of treating us great fights with the superheroes. Yet they all get a pathetic CGI deaths (sucked up into space, mangled by a giant wheel machine, destroyed by Wakanda barrier, etc) instead of from a proper and memorable fights with the superheroes. The initial fight at New York and Scotland are actually great so it is a waste that the subsequent fights with the Black Order is not of this greatness. Similarly the tag team vs Thanos at Titan is actually amazing. Yet when he goes to Wakanda, it seems that the movie maker is simply to lazy: let's make each hero run to him one at a time and ground them with some CGI. Seriously there are more superheroes at Wakanda than at Titan, they could have make the battle there more epic.

Sorry for nitpicking on the fights so much. This is an action superheroes movie genre overall so the action scenes should be the main offering. I am not saying that the fights are not great but they can be even more epic.

I am usually quite a cry baby for movies so it is quite surprising that I did not cry at all despite the so many deaths (I shed tears when Quicksilver is dead at the Age of Ultron). There are a lot of chances to make the deaths more emotional yet they are not explored and built up further. Even the finger snap death has no dramatic effect, except perhaps for Spiderman who is really scared of death and is almost crying to Tony. He is still a teen boy after all.

Similar to Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows which is split to 2 movies, the first half always leaves a hanging and emo feeling. It will be nicer if the ending can give a more anticipatory and "I cannot wait for the sequel" kind of feeling. Nonetheless, this Avengers: Infinity War is already a great and amazing movie (which still got room to be even better but perhaps that is just fans' impossible-to-meet expectations).

Black Panther

If it is not because of Chinese New Year, I will definitely skip Black Panther. It is overhyped, the trailer does not get me excited, and it only features a lone superhero: all the reasons to skip. In order to get myself working on those promotion forms, I decided to get my butt out of the house. And what else to do during CNY holiday when a lot of shops are not open other than watching movies.

Black Panther turns out to be great and exceeds my expectations. The plot is actually very simple and borderline lame for a movie instead of the usual convoluted superhero movies plot which tries hard too impress but end up confusing. Despite the simple plot, the movie does not feel draggy so all the "fillers" in between are actually well done and enjoyable. The story is also believable and the antagonist, Killmonger, has noble reasons for his actions instead of just mere revenge. Quite sad that he turns out to be an asshole as a person or otherwise he would be a good antagonist to like.

Wakanda's depiction is also awesome. Wakanda always has this mysterious charm even in the comics: hidden in Africa, has advanced technology due to vibranium, yet still have the spiritual mystic aspect with Bast the panther god. I am really wow-ed with the way the movie presents all these aspects: the African culture in the throne challenge scenes, Shuri's lab to show all the technology, and the ancestral plane scenes are gorgeous. All these are in stark contrast with the 'current' world that we live in with their scenes in Busan and that makes everything about Wakanda and the setting of the movie more realistic.

The action and fight scenes are exciting but I am not a fan of hand-to-hand combat and a single superhero movie as no matter how good the action scenes are, it will never be as good as having multiple superheroes fighting with different skills.

When I watched the trailer, I was worried if I could follow the African accent. Thankfully that was not the case when I watched the movie. I think the pace of the speech is not too fast and that makes it easier to follow. Subsequently I guess my brain just gets used to the accent and no problem in understanding.

While I think that the movie is great, it is still not enough to make me watch it again. One thing for sure though it gets me very hyped for Avengers Infinity War. April quickly come!!!

Maze Runner: The Death Cure

It has been a long wait for the ending of the Maze Runner trilogy. I am actually not too sure why I am quite eager for this (after knowing the movie had delays because Dylan O'Brien was injured during shooting) after finding the second one complete rubbish. I actually cannot even remember the plot or anything from the Scorch Trials. Lol.

Thank goodness the Death Cure is more similar to the first Maze Runner movie than the Scorch Trials. The plot is simple enough to follow although it is kind of dumb from the overall movie perspective. In this movie, essentially Thomas wants to save Minho from WCKD no matter what the costs are: from hijacking train, entering the Last City, and entering WCKD headquarters.

The action scenes are actually quite exciting and I felt like having a hell of a ride in a theme park: from the excitement of hijacking a train, being scared by zombies and trying to escape from them in a dark alley, the crazy bus escape and the bus being hooked by a crane which in the end falls down.

Other than the fun with the action, the story is really stupid. I do not know how Thomas feels after realising that his blood can actually treat the Flare. If only he just follows Teresa and WCKD. Yes WCKD is not 100% good but at least if he were to follow them, Newt and Teresa will survive. He can potentially save so many people instead of the ending of secluding everyone in an island while waiting everybody else who is not immune or is already infected to die. I can't help but feel how "gay" the movie is because Thomas seems to be more into saving Minho and Newt instead of Teresa or even a bigger picture of human redemption from the Flare virus after all.

The movie is almost 2.5 hours and my bladder tortured me. I went to the toilet like 5 times thanks to the green tea during dinner. Yesterday I wanted to have McDelivery for the new beef prosperity burger but the online portal did not allow me to proceed. So I tahan until this evening to have that. Before the movie, I watched Black Panther trailer for the first time. I know there is a lot of hype about this but I honestly do not feel excited to watch the movie after the trailer leh :(