New Year's Eve (2011)

the story followed multiple individuals on New Year's eve. Claire and the lighting ball. Ingrid and Paul, Kim and Hailey, Randy and Elise, Jensen and Laura, Stan and Aimee, Griffin and Tess, James and Grace, Sam and a mysterious woman he met last year.

each set of people with their own set of mini story, it was way too tedious to go into each and every one of them. despite having a great trailer that gave out an excellent atmosphere of new year's eve countdown, the film turned out to be such a drag. it felt forced, empty, and lacking quality. with so many great stars in it, the outcome was shocking. imagining someone missing the real countdown to watch something like this, it must be devastating and very, very frustrating.

Nana (2005) ナナ

2 girls sat next to each other on a train to Tokyo. despite having a completely different style and personalities, they were both coincidentally 20-years-old and named Nana. one of them was a punk who rocked the world by being a vocalist in a band called Black Stones; another simply moved to Tokyo to start a new life with her boyfriend. chasing after their dreams, they met again renting an apartment together, which changed their life ever since.

a very unlikely friendship formed between the 2 Nanas, which bonded more strongly than any average friendship could. despite having different backgrounds, both Nanas lacked friendship in their lives. their bond was so heartwarming that it easily made the film one of the very few high quality Japanese films that we managed to catch. every conflicting aspects worked surprisingly well together, which drawn us helplessly into the plot and characters emotionally, shedding tears generously.

Xenia: Sing You Home (2011)

Xenia Martinez was one of the final contestants from The Voice: Season 1 (2011). she released her first EP "Sing You Home" on Dec 2011. she had the genre of soul-pop since the competition. her raspy voice gained many attentions, including ours. she is currently working with a band and hopefully come out with an album soon!

Soul Screamers #1: My Soul to Take (2009)

Kaylee was at the club, enjoying being basked in the attention of Nash, the hottest guy in school. but before she was able to leave a good impression, it happened again. her ability to sense that someone near her was about to die. the shadows and fog closing in, soon she would be taken over by a force so powerful that it sought to escape her through her throat, with her screaming agonizingly.

having read the teaser: My Soul to Lose (2009) beforehand, i had a rough idea that Kaylee was a Banshee, or Bean Sidhes. what i was surprised to find was to have more than one Bean Sidhes to read about! despite being drawn into the agony of her screaming her head away, it was comforting to know that to a male Bean Sidhes, the screaming was a beautiful Soul Song, a song that was able to hold on to a soul before its passing over. the idea was so overwhelming that i found myself at the end of the book as soon as i began!

We Bought a Zoo (2011)

the story was based on a true story. where Benjamin, after the lost of his wife, started a new life by buying a new house while moving in with his 14-year-old son Dylan, and 7-year-old daughter Rosie. however, the house came with quite a number of animals, which it served as a zoo previously. he accepted the challenge for it to reopen to public again, while struggling with her rebellious son and curious daughter.

i watched the movie with the hope that it would be about animals. it wasn't. it was however, about the people in it. fortunately, it was very influential and captivating. i enjoyed especially the verbal fight between Benjamin and his son Dylan. it was constructive and obviously helping them untangled their relationship after his wife passed. 20 seconds of bravery, that's all it took, and with many 20 seconds, Benjamin created many miracles with the people around him.

Wasao (2011) わさお

the film was based on a true story of an abandoned dog, its breed Akita. one of the rare color, a big-sized white furry Akita arrived in a small town of Ajigasawa (鰺ヶ沢町), Aomori (青森市). it was previously abandoned by its owner, a young boy named Akira. his father brought the Akita to Tokyo. since its escape, the Akita traveled all the way from Tokyo in search of its owner. it met Setsuko, the owner of a squid restaurant. although the Akita doesn't follow anyone, it accepted the food Setsuko prepared for it.

according to the facts, the abandoned Akita was found and named Leo in 2007. it was introduced as Wasao and gained instant popularity through the Internet in 2008. it often appeared on television and magazines during that period of time. due to its popularity, Wasao was named a travel ambassador of the town Ajigasawa in 2010. like most true stories, there weren't much going on in the film. the film was there just to provide a huge dose of fluffy cuteness to its viewers.

Adam Lambert: Never Close Our Eyes (2012)

"Never Close Our Eyes" was the second single of his Tresspassing (2012) album, released in Apr 2012. the song was given by Bruno Mars, written in 2010. it was an electro-pop song, with elements of dance-pop and euro-pop. the lyric was about enjoying time with a special someone, since one wouldn't know how much time one have.

Soul Screamers #0.5: My Soul to Lose (2009)

Kaylee headed to the mall with her best friend, Emma, expecting to enjoy themselves shopping at the mall. but it was then the panic attack started and she had to get away from it. she avoided the first wave, but when the second encounter reached her, she found herself screaming uncontrollably, fingers scratching at her own throat to make the screaming stop. before long, everything turned dark and she found herself waking up in a psychiatric ward.

Kaylee's ability to sense death was an interesting and refreshing concept i had yet seen in many books. she struggled to cope with her ability without standing out, but failed miserably whenever death was nearby. the book was like a teaser. despite being a short introduction, it was plentiful and enough to draw us into Kaylee's character, while rooting for her completely.

The Duchess (2008)

the story followed the true story of Georgiana Spencer, who became the Duchess of Devonshire after her marriage to the Duke in 1774. she was an influential woman with a high sense of fashion and dared political change. she was adored by the public due to her spirited personality, but to her dismay, her marriage turned out to be a disappointment. the Duke continued his affairs while cared nothing about her, constantly reminding her to produce a male heir. her friend Lady Bess betrayed her by sleeping with the Duke, which eventually led to the 3 living uncomfortably together.

the emotional plot that evolved around the intolerable world of Georgiana was truly engaging and overwhelming, exploring the unfortunate innocence and the loss of freedom while providing an extremely satisfying and heart wrenching experience. and not to mention the extraordinary costumes and locations that beautified everything visually. watching Georgina, one of the strongest presence in England's history, the film had us felt the pressure of both men and women living in that century. according to facts, Diana (The Princess of Wales) was her great-great-grandniece.

Orochi - Blood (2008) おろち

Orochi came to the Monzen family mansion as a housekeeper. Aoi Monzen was the owner of the house, a superstar with 2 daughters, Kazusa and Risa. but the Monzen family had a dark secret, the beautiful women of the family will gradually became hideous and rot away once they passed the age of 29. Aoi hoped for her daughter to take over her legacy, but Kazusa doesn't lived up to her expectation, her strict teaching causing the sisters to grow up with hidden hatred.

the story evolved around the Monzen women, with Orochi as the narrator, who reawakens every 100 years. she spent her time on earth watching humans struggled with life. the Monzen's dark secret was something unique and made the plot different than what was often expected. however, the story progressed in a very slow pace, it took quite a while for the direction to become clear and for the excitement to surface.

Ro-Kyu-Bu! (2011) ロウきゅーぶ!

Subaru was a high school student, who decided to distant himself from basketball despite his love for the sport. his aunt Mihoshi instructed him to become the coach of an elementary school girl's basketball team. he accepted to train the girls for 3 days, allowing them to participate in a coming match. but after getting know the girls personally and learning of their circumstances, he decided to continue coaching them.

when a bunch of young girls were put together with basketball, we would have expect worse. but out of our expectation, it was a charming and an easy to watch anime. although there might not be any hardcore basketball matches available, the matches was intense enough to held our breath. their friendship was brought together by basketball, and from one character to another, the story focused on introducing us the girls and Subaru himself, each with their unique personality.

Deadly Cool #1: Deadly Cool (2011)

Hartley was a student from Herbert Hoover High School. she had a bad day. first she found out that Josh, her boyfriend was cheating on her with Courtney, the president of the chastity club. she called and texted him whole day but getting no respond. when she went to his room to confront him, she stumbled upon Courtney's body hidden in his closet. when Hartley was both pissed and afraid, not knowing what to do, Josh appeared climbing through her window, begging for her to help clear him name.

the book wasn't what was expected. while murder mysteries were often dark and lengthy in its explanation, Deadly Cool (2011) was straight to the point, easy to understand and analyzing like a teen. there were some creepy moments, disturbing discovery of bodies, but it wasn't over elaborated to give it a overstuffed feeling. it was definitely an easy read, and it kept me guessing until the very end who the villain was. the result was completely unexpected and exciting.

Dark Tide (2012)

Kate was a shark expert, spending days with her divers out in the sea. things changed after she watched her mentor died during a shark attack. since then, Kate was haunted by the memory of the attack and unable to get back into the water. to pay off the bills, she gave wildlife tours. and Jeff convinced her to face her fear by leading a millionaire businessman on a shark dive.

the ocean was beautiful, the scenery breathtaking, even the sharks looked somewhat adorable at some point; but these humans practically asked for trouble. some may find these really closed calls thrilling or adventurous, but toying and provoking these dangerous predator just ended up being another idiotic act. despite not being a huge shark fan, it was even more difficult to root for the humans in this film, the sharks were way better.

Bunshin (2012) 分身

Mariko was a student in child welfare. she lived in Hokkaido and had always doubted the love she barely received from her mother Shizue, who died in a fire 9 years ago. Futaba was a university student that spent all her time with her band. they were making television appearance, which her mother strongly oppose and caused her to be suspicious of her mother's behavior. the 2 girls was unaware of each other's existence despite looking alike. one day Mariko found Shizue's possessions in her aunt's house and discovered that while Shizue was alive, she had been searching for a secret in Tokyo. to uncover the mystery, Mariko decided to head to Tokyo.

at the near end of the episodes, there were so much tension going on that it was absolutely captivating. some of the earlier episodes were introductions of the 2 girls that were unaware of each other. it took longer than necessary, but did a great job of giving us an idea of what they were like, and how different they were. the story started when they came to realize how identical they looked and seeking out the mystery with medical and scientific ways. it was an intriguing idea and impressive enough to have us feeling satisfied after know the truth.

Ikoku Meiro no Croisée (2011) 異国迷路のクロワーゼ

a Japanese girl named Yune arrived at Paris with Oscar. she offered to work at his shop, Enseignes du Roy, where Oscar's grandson Claude worked as a blacksmith who made street signs for stores. having different culture, Yune and Claude struggled to get along while learning more about each other. they had to stick together to keep the shop open despite the reducing number of customers. the shop was located at Galerie du Roy, once a popular marketplace but now many shops were closed as technology advances.

the anime was simply beautiful and adorable! it was easy to get absorb into Yune's character, so straightforward and simpleminded that she found even the smallest thing to be an exciting discovery. and despite Claude's headstrong personality, it was absolutely heartwarming to see his relationship with Yune slowly transforming into a tighter bond. most of Yune and her traditional stuff doesn't fit into the France idea, but it was also the uniqueness of these different culture being placed together that caused the awkwardness to be so breathtaking.

Elixir #1: Elixir (2010)

Clea was the daughter of a surgeon and politician. her only escape from the spotlight was when she got to travel being a photojournalist, to explore even the most exotic parts of the world. but after her father disappearance, she started to notice that all the photographs she took had the same man in it, sometimes appearing in places not possible for human. when they were drawn together by the mystery of her father's disappearance, she was overwhelmed by the immediate connection that she felt with him.

having grew up with her Lizzie McGuire, i was curious about the book after seeing her name on it. unfortunately there were not much spark going on even between the love triangle of Clea, Ben and Sage. as mysterious as the story was, Sage being immortal felt predictable, and Ben's jealousy made his originally likable character detestable. as for Clea, other than her wealthy background, had no reason to have 2 guys chasing after her. despite the flaws, Clea's past lives were interesting perspectives. different era with different deaths, which brought their love story to a halt every single time.

Dark Shadows (2012)

Barnabas grew up in a wealthy family. he broke the heart of Angelique, a witch who in revenge killed his parents, turned him into a vampire and buried him in the woods. 200 years later, Barnabas was accidentally freed by a group of construction workers. he returned to his mansion, now mostly left in ruin. Barnabas decided to restore his family name together with his descendants, only to have Angelique in his face again.

we went into the cinema half-expecting something like Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street (2007) or Alice in Wonderland (2010) from Tim Burton, unfortunately despite the perfect gloominess, it being a comedy was somewhat disappointing and felt lacked of depth. however, the makeups and costumes were awesome, with a lot of fun blended together by a little horror, comedy, and even romance. we had our doubts, perhaps if the film stick with horror alone, the result might be more satisfying.

Stepfather Step (2012) ステップファザー・ステップ

the twins, Tadashi and Tatsuki, happened to lost both their parents on the same day, whom each ran away with their lover. before they were able to figure out how to hide this from their teacher, they found Kaito King. Kaito King was a skilled thief wanted by the police. one night during his mission, he tripped and hit his head, waking up at the house of the twins. they knew who he really was, but in return of keeping his secret, he had to pretend to be their father in front of their teacher.

it was an entertaining drama and often humorous. it was easy to find myself laughing at the circumstances, but there were also some touching and heartwarming moments, not to mention some truth about how adults often behave around children, assuming they wouldn't notice the difference. the twins were perfect for each other, one knew how to cook, while another knew how to do laundry. as unbelievable as it seemed, they can basically survive without the aids of adults, which probably add a few more points to their cuteness.

Kyousogiga (2011) 京騒戯画

Koto and her brothers were stuck in a strange world where humans and spirits lived together. they caused mayhem running into a mysterious monk, and got chased around by a geek. while Koto enjoyed her chaotic new life, they had to find the Rabbit to escape the colorful world and return to the real world. but the problem was, not everyone wanted them to leave.

the ONA was a whole lot of mess and confusion, though not exactly a bad thing. it was random and spontaneous, while most of the time i felt lost not knowing what was happening. neither did the anime offered any introduction on how Koto and her brothers ended up at the strange world. with only 1 episode, there weren't much character development other than everyone being completely insane! putting aside the flaws, the anime was different and probably watchable, especially if we could be warned beforehand that it was loosely based on the Alice in Wonderland story.

Sookie Stackhouse #10: Dead in the Family (2010)

Sookie was still recovering physically and emotionally from the torture she received from the fairies in Dead and Gone (2009). Bill also continued to suffer from silver poisoning while he rescued Sookie. although the blood of his maker, Lorena could help him, she was dead, which left Judith, who was also turned by Lorena. Sookie's relationship with Eric the vampire strengthened, but this was when Eric's maker, Appius showed up, bringing Eric's "brother", Alexei along. Alexei was the last of his family, being slaughter thus having emotional problems after being turned. Appius came to Eric, hoping he could help Alexei gain some sanity.

the series continued being absolutely entertaining and humorous! as unstable as Sookie felt after being tortured, i was thrilled to have her return to her own self when her friends were having trouble. Alexei was a creepy character, but very interesting and made the story sped up its pace, especially after Eric's elaborated political knowledge. Claude, Sookie's fairy cousin showed more of himself by living in Sookie's house after his sister's death. being the last of Sookie's family member, he changed his icy personality to care more about Sookie, a development unexpected and extremely heartwarming. there were a lot of progress for the characters in this installment, seemingly welcoming what was to come, which made waiting for the next book unbearable.

Safe (2012)

Luke was an ex-elite agent, who lived on the street and getting into fights ever since his family was killed by the mafia. just before he commit suicide, he saw a young chinese girl being pursued by the same gang. he then impulsively jumped in to save her. Mei was no ordinary girl, her memory hold a numerical code, which the Triads, Russian Mafia and corrupted NYPD officials were after. to save her life, Luke had to outwit all these dangerous personnel themselves.

having 3 parties chasing after Luke and Mei was a confusion at start, but soon the plot started getting clearer instead of what appeared to be a blind escape. as absurd as Luke being able to win against 3 parties, it was easy to root for him, even unconsciously. unfortunately there weren't much development between Luke and Mei as we anticipated. despite the hints of developed trust, it was most of the time overshadowed by actions. but for an action film, it was truly entertaining.

Shokuzai (2012) 贖罪

the story started 15 years ago, Emiri was transferred to an elementary school in a small town. she became friends with Sae, Maki, Akiko and Yuka. one day, when they were playing volleyball, a man came and asked for Emiri. she was led into a gym. but when the girls went looking for her, Emiri was found dead. they cannot remember the man's face, thus the case remained unsolved. Emiri's mother, Asako demanded that as long as the man wasn't caught, the girls had to make atonement. they lived difficult lives due to this event, even during adulthood.

the drama had a dark themed to it, where the girls were trapped in their past, haunted by not the ghost but the constant reminder from Asako that they were guilty for Emiri's death. the atmosphere kept the scenes chilling, the emotions extremely edgy and heavy. despite some slow dialogues, it managed to live up to its expectation. i found the drama extremely entertaining, not in a frightening way, but solely interesting and absolutely engaging.

Nisemonogatari (2012) 偽物語

the story picked up where it was left off in Bakemonogatari (2009). Koyomi continued to find himself getting mixed up with supernaturals. more characters were introduced, especially Koyomi's sisters, named Karen and Tsukihi, who formed an alliance to save the town from evil. their characteristic were a lot like Hitagi, both loved to fight and strong-willed.

having loved Bakemonogatari (2009), we were more than excited to find that there was a second season. as usual, it was mostly the dialogues that made the anime interesting. it was fast-spoken and filled with humor that only the most familiar could understand. his meeting with some of the characters from previous season turned out to be much more entertaining than their previous encounters. it was absolutely addictive to follow Koyomi on his "venture".

Trylle #1: Switched (2010)

the story started with Wendy's mother's outbreak, claiming Wendy was not her child and attempted to kill her on her sixth birthday. Wendy grew up to be a troubled teen who struggled to blend in. with her brother Matt, and aunt Maggie, they moved from one place to another whenever she was expelled from school. in her new school, she met with a mysterious student named Finn, whom she often found staring blankly at her. their unlikely friendship bloomed until she was found using her persuasion ability on another student. Finn confronted her and revealed that they are from a tribe of trolls called Trylle.

the first book i came across that used Trolls as their main character turned out to be a huge mess. in the book, Trolls apparently looked like any other human being, but having special abilities. Wendy was switched at birth, so she could grow up in a rich family before taken back to the Trolls community, where she was the Princess. Finn was a tracker sent after Wendy. she went about fighting her heritage, running back to her human family, getting kidnapped by some Troll enemies, etc. as the story went, Wendy obviously fell for Finn, who had to save her from every trouble she got herself into. but Wendy herself, was where the story went wrong. she wasn't a lovable character, at all. in fact, she was very, extremely irritating, which also made the read very tiring.

Gone (2012)

Jill lived with her sister, Molly. one year ago, Jill was kidnapped by a serial killer who later abandoned her in the forest, where she claimed to see many body parts. she knocked him unconscious before he was able to kill her and escaped. however, the polices weren't able to find any evidence, only discovering that she had been sent to the psychiatric previously, after her parents' death. one day returning home from work, Molly was gone and Jill believed that she was abducted and the serial killer was back.

the pace was great and the plot was extremely tight and constructive. it was able to held my attention the complete time, feeling disturbingly creepy and strange. not to mention, i was left guessing what would happen next and which one was the real deal at all times. Jill was a believing role, giving great suspense to the thriller. the twists and turns made the ending very satisfying yet managed to remain completely unpredictable.

Risou no Musuko (2012) 理想の息子

Umi was a beautiful single mother, she worked hard to raise her son Daichi. however, she implanted into Daichi's mind that he has to grow up into a successful being and buy his mother a big house. Daichi was raised to be a perfect obedient son who adored his mother. when Umi started her new job at an all-boys high school cafeteria, Daichi decided to enter that high school to protect his mother.

the drama had its fun moments, both in the son and mother's point of view. it was hilarious that Umi had a hidden motive to manipulate her son, while Daichi found ways around being bullied without betraying his mother. they were the same in many ways, being completely perfect for each other. the points delivered were in an understanding manner, though both having a motive, their love for each other were deep and strong, making it both funny and heartwarming.

Denpa Onna to Seishun Otoko (2011) 電波女と青春男

Makoto moved in with his aunt Meme and met with his cousin Erio. he was confused to see Erio, thinking that aunt Meme lived alone. but he was furthermore confused to see Erio bundled herself with a futon (布団). she claimed that she was an extraterrestrial being, waiting to receive message from outer space. later Makoto discovered that Erio had been missing for half a year and was found floating in the sea. since then, she doesn't remember anything that happened but believed that it was the act of an alien.

it was a relaxing and lighthearted anime. the characters were all lovable, adorable and absolutely positive. although the anime doesn't have an in depth plot, perhaps even a little absurd, but it was more than enough to connect the characters and boost their development. most of the time, it was not what was expected, where every twist and turn eventually put a smile on our face. the process of knowing each character was fun, each charming in their very own ways, even 39-year-old aunt Meme can turned out to be so lovable!

Tales of the Otherworld (2010)

the book contained the rest of the short stories of the characters in the Women of the Otherworld series (2001-2012). it started with Eve, the witch and how she came in contact with Kristof, the sorcerer. then it continued to the story of Eve when she lived with her daughter Savannah, where Lucas, the sorcerer came sneaking into her house to steal a grimoire. then it shifted the focus to Lucas and Paige's wedding, especially days before it happened, where Benecio, Lucas' dad insisted on participating by making it grand, the complete opposite of what the couple intended.

these short stories were like cherry toppings on a delicious sundae. it was so much fun to peek behind the scenes other then the major events that took place in the 13 main books. however, these short stories were not meant for those who don't already know the characters in the main series. there will only be confusions, lots of them. otherwise, it was extremely captivating to jump into the not-so-big events that took place. emotions and stress, even love during these unexpected moment were what make the series absolutely awesome.

The Avengers (2012)

Nick, the director of SHIELD, arrived at a research facility of Tesseract, an energy source with extreme potential. it was activated and a portal opened, leading Loki to earth from outer space. in order for his Chitauri army to step through, Loki needed to activate a larger portal. in response to the attack, Nick gathered Captain America, Black Widow, Iron Man, and Hulk, while Thor joined them later in pursuit of his brother, Loki.

despite having so many main characters under the spotlight, we were thrilled to find that each character had enough screen time and character developments to keep us completely rooted for each and every one of them. it seemed almost impossible to feel so excited and pumped up watching a group of superheroes saving earth. the tensions and conflicts caused by overflowing testosterone within the team spiked the film up even more, having the superheroes fighting against each other for dominance before fighting alongside, against a common enemy. in many ways, the film surprised us, with its turn of events as well as its believing performances.

The Secret Life of the American Teenager: Season 1 (2009)

the story followed the story of 15-year-old Amy, who was dealing with an unexpected pregnancy that happened during band camp, with a guy named Ricky. she told her 2 best friends, Lauren and Madison. while they encouraged her to be honest with her parents, she decided to pretend that nothing happened. Ben was one of the geeks and decided to lose his virginity by starting to date someone. his sight fell on Amy across the hallway, and asked her to the dance. they got together, with Amy concealing the pregnancy from him.

a common plot for a drama, but somewhat beautiful and heart wrenching for being so realistic. some characters, maybe even most characters were cheesy. some lovable, others not so. some battled on the topic of sex, others desperately trying to get a certain someone. although it was a slow-paced drama, like most dramas were, Amy's life was in the spotlight. she was a great actress, playing a pitiful character that was often struggling to make the right choice like an adult, and also the far most believable character on the set.

Kamisama Dolls (2011) 神様ドォルズ

Kyouhei moved away from his village to get away from the devastating event that happened. many were killed when Aki, Kyouhei's friend started the massacre by controlling the opponents' Kakashi, an ancient God controlled by the mind. one night, he was out with his rent-owner's daughter named Hibino and some friends, where his younger sister named Utao arrived in town. she brought along her Kakashi, who once belonged to Kyouhei. only then Kyouhei realized that Aki had escaped from jail and came to Tokyo as well.

despite the serious plot, it was sometimes difficult to get absorbed into the anime due to its lame humor. they doesn't blend well together, alienating the emotions, the pain and fear that was presented most of the time. the anime started as if the story evolved around everyone, including Kyouhei, Utao and Aki, but soon when more and more characters that own Kakashi appeared, it became so divided that it was difficult to know. personally, i only enjoyed Aki's character development, where his "evil" side weren't what we expected.