Sookie Stackhouse #4: Dead to the World (2004)

Dead to the World was the fourth novel of the Southern Vampire series. Sookie Stackhouse, after broken up with the vampire Bill, hope to have her peaceful life back, n not get beaten up again by some supernatural creature. Bill then went out of town, to Peru for research. driving home from work one night, Sookie saw the vampire sheriff, Eric wandered out on the dark street, undressed n lacking any memory of who he was. soon she found out that his memories were destroyed by a coven of powerful witches, who just arrived in their small town. a bounty was placed on Eric, with a huge reward. Sookie treid to hide Eric, but Sookie's brother, Jason saw him, n disappeared after that. she was again, dangerously caught between a war among vampires, witches, n werewolves.

again, Charlain Harris managed to make this book a huge success! Sookie, as always, was a lot tougher than she seemed. she may be emotional, attracted to the weirdest kinda men, but she was good n learning fast to pick herself up n moving forward. she was, compare to Faythe in the Werecats series, easy to love n side with. her relationship however, was still a huge mess. she haven't gotten over vampire Bill, but she was attracted to vampire Eric, n also the connection between her n werewolf Alcide n shape-shifter Sam. at this point of the stories, one would missed out a lot if haven't catchup with its previous books.

Sucker Punch (2011)

right after her mother's death, Babydoll was put into a mental asylum by her abusive stepfather. she will undergo a procedure in 5 days time, to permanently remove her memories. for survival, she n the rest of the female inmates were forced to dance to entertain the highroller, which could be any rich people or even the mayor. unlike the rest of the inmates, she was able to perform a dance so hypnotizing that she could held everyone's full attention, unaware of the happenings around them. when she danced, she was sucked into a fantasy world her imagination brought her. she then received a list of items to collect, to help her escape the mental facility. together with 4 other inmates, they went around plotting, collecting the items before she ran out of time.

like many others, i find it difficult to enjoy the movie. the plot was simple, just gather the items n escape. the fantasy world, which was the main attraction of this film, although beautiful but was completely unnecessary. most of the scenes worth mentioning, was all talking n explanations, the rest were just special effects n fancy visuals. unfortunately it didn't get any better from there, for each cast was only given 1 expression. so they can either be tough, sad, rebellious, timid, or flirty. nothing more. i'm not sure if the film was even suitable for children, with its godly characters, beautiful girls with thick makeup n low-cut tops. it had me felt awfully disappointed n cheated, paying to see this film.

Delectation.

waking up in the middle of the night, straining to see in the dark, it soothed her to be occasionally embraced against that warm body. waking up at dawn, it overwhelmed her for them to simply exchange a plain old hug. every single embrace felt like it was with Him, if not generously gifted by Him. these were the simple pleasures that always got her through the day, no matter how long or short that day would turned out to be, or how colorful or common that day shall be painted. for a long time, she couldn't imagine going through a day otherwise.

単純な幸せ。

Break Blade 1 - The Time of Awakening (2010) ブレイク ブレイド - 覚醒ノ刻

in Cruzon, the people were born with a gift, the ability to freely control the crystals for any purpose. mobile suits called Golem were built based on this technology, allowing them to perform powerful tasks. Rygart however, was an un-sorcerer (person who was born without the ability). one day, he received a letter from an old friend, King Hodr. Hodr summoned Rygart for an ancient Golem was discovered in the mining shaft. a key researcher, Queen Sigyn suspected that maybe an un-sorcerer might be able to activate it. with this Golem, they will be able to put up a fight against the invading army of Athens. while figuring out how to control the ancient Golem, Rygart discovered that Zess, also a best friend of theirs, was leading the enemy's troop. Rygart was pushed into the war without preparation of its consequences n where it will lead their friendship.

for Break Blade's first out of 6 movie, it was mostly introduction of the war between kingdoms, n the relationship between the 4 friends. although Rygart has so much doubts throughout the anime one would be greatly annoyed by his cowardice, at some point these thoughts were so much less restricted compared to the soldiers, n it became an interesting point to look out for. Rygart was very much put to the test, facing the merciless war while struggling to protect their friendship. the cruelty of such fate pulling 4 friends together, making this a surprising awesome war tale!

cat.

just outside a coffee shop, the cat was taking a deep nap. even when we were up close, not once did it open those eyes nor flick those ears. as if the world is its home, nothing to fear, nothing will harm it. that look alone, was enough to draw us further, reluctant to disturb its peaceful nap.

The Ruins (2008)

a group of Americans went on a vacation in Mexico. Mathias invited the group to visit the ruins of a Mayan temple. they were surrounded by Mayan villagers once they reached the ruins, armed with revolver, rifle n bow. they would not allow the group to leave the ruin. they thought it was a strange believe the villagers hold, but it was more than that. the ruined was covered by bloodthirsty plants, which killed everyone who set foot in it. n they were next.

there weren't much horror in the film, but way too much torturous scenes. such as the attempt to move a seriously injured person with a broken backbone, slicing open a piece of flesh to remove a root or two, or maybe crashing the bones n cutting off a foot with a hunting knife just to avoid infection, which were so much more disturbing! a fright or two won't caused one to feel nausea, but these scenes definitely does the trick.

Sookie Stackhouse #3: Club Dead (2003)

like its previous books, each of the books in Southern Vampire series can be read independently. but certain part of the story, such as the love triangle between Sookie, Eric, n Bill, would be much more tastier to have first read its previous books.

Sookie Stackhouse only loved her vampire boyfriend, Bill. but suddenly he put some distance between them n disappeared to another state, Mississippi. Eric revealed that Bill had been summoned by Lorena, who happened to be a lady vampire n also Bill's maker. the news alone was enough to send Sookie running to Mississippi looking for Bill. with the help from Alcide, whose status was a werewolf, she was able enter places normally mortals could not, such as Club Dead. Bill arrived at critical moment yet was caught seriously betraying Sookie's love, she wasn't sure whether to save him or to do the exact opposite.

this book kinda circled around who were interested in Sookie. other than the common pursuers, Bill n Eric (the vampires), Sam (the shape-shifter), now there was Alcide (the werewolf). Club Dead (2003) was by far the least interesting book of the series Southern Vampire. however the involvement of the varies type of supernatural beings were far more captivating than ever! the unexpected treachery from Bill surprised me, i actually believed their love would last forever. but the unexpected turn of events weren't exactly bad either, since the story has so much potential to be explored n expanded! n again, Charlain Harris managed to put in so much humor into the series of events that would have sounded so serious n intense otherwise. it was absolutely impossible not to enjoy the read!

Gundam 00: Awakening of the Trailblazer (2010) 劇場版 機動戦士ガンダム00

it has been 2 years after Celestial Being's final battle. the world now faced a new crisis when an exploration ship that was abandoned 130 years go was found approaching Earth. they realize there were something fishy with the ship, the Gunda Meisters were again gathered to save humanity from these unknown enemies, which were many times more powerful than those they fought years ago. the life force that started controlling the abandoned ship was actually taken over by ELS (Extraterrestrial Living-metal Shape-shifters), which were able to shift into any shape that they came in contact with, including Gundams n Warships.

ever since its trailer was being released, the movie was aired in Japan's cinema in 2010, unfortunately not available to the rest of the world. in 2011, the movie was finally widely distributed around the globe, n we had the chance to catch it. the movie was a sequel to its 2 series, Season 1 n Season 2. it was again, directed by the same awesome director from all Gundam 00 series, Seiji Mizushima. he wasn't afraid to push the anime to their limit, n by killing a main character in Season 1 gave us such a shock! him continuing to kill another main character in Season 2 was equally surprising; n now for the movie, he even went as far as destroying all possible machines n professionals, limiting the chance of a forth sequel. despite the violence, we had as much fun with the movie as we did with the series, for it was so much more believing n less godly compare to the previous attempts on Gundam, such as Gundam Seed (2002) n Gundam Seed Destiny (2002).

Ataraxia.

looking to her left, she can't help but to stare straight at him. when she was done being dazzled, her consciousness returned n taking charge, her finger reached out impulsively, poking him on the thigh. he turned away from the screen n looked at her, puzzled. "who are you?" she blurted out. the puzzle look on his face continued to buildup. "why are you in my life? n why am i sharing it with you?" suddenly understood where the conversation was heading, he smiled knowingly. shoulder relaxed, he passed her one of the game controllers, lips parted slowly into a wide grin.

幸福に恵まれた。

Battle: Los Angeles (2011)

comet looking objects were detected flying towards earth in an astounding high speed, yet before the scientists were able to announce that it would do no harm, they noticed that it actually reduced its speed right before impact. in the meanwhile, a Marine Staff Sergeant retirement was approved, but instead of accepting his retirement, he rejoined the marine, assisting a Lieutenant n his troop. they were assigned to Los Angeles to retrieve any survivors n defend the city from being further invaded by aliens.

like what -Dempsey- had said, it may not be as good as War of World (2005), nor beat the legendary masterpiece Independence Day (1996), but it was definitely way better than Skyline (2010)! there weren't any closeup on the aliens, or detailed explanations for the invasion, mostly assumptions made by the humans. but it was nonetheless breathtaking n had our complete attention throughout its screen time. when i thought the story won't be focusing on its characters n probably more on the aliens, i was wrong. it managed to have us felt so personally connected to each n every one of its characters! after the alien started the invasion, the film became a nonstop thrill ride. explosion, lasers, even tankers were put into action. unpredictability played a great part for the film.

True Blood: Season 1 (2008)

True Blood was adapted from Charlain Harris' Southern Vampire novel series. in a rural town called Bon Temps, Louisiana, Sookie Stackhouse lived with her grandmother Adele, n brother Jason. the story started when Sookie, a barmaid at Merlotte, saved vampire Bill from being drained of his blood in the parking lot. Sam was the owner of the diner. these 3 characters than formed a love triangle that complicates many issues. in the meanwhile, Sookie's bestfriend, Tara struggled with her alcoholic mother; Jason had a crush on an addicted hippie, Amy. murders that suddenly occurred all too often in the small town raised the tension throughout the town. fang-bangers (human who let vampires bite them) were killed mysteriously, leaving behind bite marks on their inner thigh. Andy, a policeman was assigned for the case, yet failed to find the connection between vampires n humans.

i didn't watch many series, other than Buffy the Vampire Slayers (1997) n Charmed (1998). True Blood, which i first assumed would probably be bad compared to its novels, wasn't exactly true. the story may be less detailed, but the tension was nothing less than what was presented in its novels! it managed to make a horror genre fun, humorous, gory, n mystery. one of the funniest characters was Tara's cousin, Lafayette, who sold drugs n worked as a cook at Merlotte. the story was running in so many direction at once it contained no boring parts! well, other than some, where people sat around doing nothing but talking, which i supposed was important for those who failed to find time for its novels, these scenes were somewhat necessary to fully understand the nature of things.

Naisho no Tsubomi (2008) ないしょのつぼみ

Tsubomi was a little girl who is in the process of growing up. the show follows her as she discovers many things about life, she likes a boy for the first time n learned where babies come from when her mother was pregnant. the anime was all about growing up, the awkwardness of asking what happened while discovering the change of their body.

Sookie Stackhouse #2: Living Dead In Dallas (2002)

Sookie Stackhouse was a barmaid at Merlotte's Bar. one night she found Lafayette, Merlotte's cook, body in Andy's car. Andy was a police detective, whom happened to leave his car at the bar because he was too drunk to drive the night before. Bon Temps was a small town in Louisiana, where murders rarely happened. a big case like this brought the town alive n together, against Bill, Sookie's vampire boyfriend. Sookie being telepathic was able to read all the blaming thoughts directed at her n Bill. Bill however wouldn't do unnecessary killing, for he wanted to fit into the mainstream world, n with synthetic blood widely available even in a small town, he had no reason to do so. before they were able to react to these incidents, they were summoned by Eric, the vampire sheriff of Louisiana, to head to Dallas to assist on a vampire disappearing case.

there were plenty of action n violence in this book, as Sookie was exposed to a bigger town n vampire society as compare to Bon Temps. she being both excited n dreaded with the adventure was what make her appeared to be "normal", not that we can accept a telepathic girl dating a vampire to be anywhere near it. Charlain Harris had truly created a new kind of vampire story, no cheesy love story like Twilight, nor killing machine like Laurell K. Hamilton's Anita Blake. the series was a thriller, a detective story, as well as romance. following Sookie on her adventure was absolutely fun! its plot well thought out n written.

Fast & Furious (2009)

directed by the same director since Tokyo Drift (2006), he continued to keep us entertain with more actions, more exotic cars, n speed. a crime brought them back to LA, Dom again joined forces with Brian, together with 2 other women. they were forced to confront an enemy despite the uncertain trust they had for each other. like any previous Fast n Furious film-series, no one does it better than Vin Diesel, pushing the limits behind the wheels, n looked believing at the same time. though this sequel was less impressive if compared to its first sequel, which hit us with a boom. but it does successfully put us through an adrenaline rush, making it worth getting on for a ride.

Avril Lavigne: Goodby Lullaby (2011)

finally after a loud single "What the Hell" released in January, her album came out in March as promised. the recording began in November 2008. after 2 years of hard work, it was concluded in October 2010. it was first scheduled to be released on November 2009. what made this album unique from all its previous albums, was that ever since Avril started singing since 1998, she finally started writing her own songs. n for this album, all songs were written by her, half of it with the assistance of co-writers. n whenever her record company wanted her to go along with the version they felt it should be, she said, "No, this is a really special record to me and this is what I'm doing!" below is a video of her life during recording (for sharing purpose only):

Kämpfer (2009) けんぷファー

Natsuru was a normal high school student. but one day, he was chosen to be a Kampfer, whose objective was to fight the opposed Kampfers, assigned with either guns, swords, or magic. each team consist 3 girls, but the problem was, Natsuru was a guy. to use the Kampfer's power, he had to transform into a girl, he didn't have a choice when the opposed Kampfers started to attack him. the transformation made the anime interesting, so does the battles, which can basically happen at any minute, any location.

Emancipate.

the desire n eagerness to get her point across the distance engulfed her. the connection wavered, threatened to falter. shunned, her mind retreated into a foggy state, so vague that it frightened her. but the moment she looked away, she knew that courage did not fail her. still intact, it waited patiently in the open for her to take a step forward. n she did. when her heart stopped thrashing against her chest, it was conveyed successfully, sailing smoothly across without trouble. determination continued to stay with her stubbornly, always up for the challenge, making things right again for all that it takes.

問題は脅威ではなかった。

Rango (2011)

Rango was a common pet chameleon until an accident happened, which winded him up in a town named Dirt, located in the wild west. things started to change when he wanted to be whoever he wanted to be in this new place. with lots of luck on his side, he succeeded in earning the trust of the villagers, n became their new sheriff. he then ran into a lot of trouble when the water supply became low n worst, got stolen.

even though the story evolved around a missing water supply, it managed to break a lot of expectancy! the animation started out slightly slow, but soon picked up its pace. it was smart, fun, humorous, somewhat violent, but the part that held most of our attention was its bizarre moments where Rango was able to get away with his lies, not once but many times. n it wasn't in a bad way, for he was still our hero of at the end of the day. Rango outshone the others, by being original, especially when he was voice casted by Johnny Depp, who else can be more original than him? this was an animation probably not suitable for kids, but definitely one to keep the adults entertained!

Sookie Stackhouse #1: Dead Until Dark (2001)

the Southern Vampire series has a vampire romance genre, with a little mystery here n there. the story evolved around Sookie Stackhouse, a barmaid in a small town named Bon Temps, in Louisiana. on the outside, she was a typical girl growing up in a small town; secretly, she had a supernatural power. she was a telepath. everything stayed normal until one day, a vampire named Bill showed up at the bar. while at the same time, local girls were murdered after sleeping with vampires, leaving marks on their bodies as proofs. being a telepath, Sookie can read other people's thoughts. she soon fell head over toes for Bill, which has nothing to do with him being a vampire; but because she can't read his thoughts, which makes his mind blessedly silent.

with vampires being legal citizens among the living, synthetic blood produced by the Japanese to be widely available even in a small town, the plot was so interesting that it was able to hold my attention so completely throughout my read. Sookie's character, unlike Faythe from the Werecats series who needed some times to understand n fell in love with, Sookie was already likable n believable. the book was fun, quick n entertaining with romance n lots of supernatural twists. Charlaine Harris portrayed the vampire society to be as violent as it was usually portrayed in vampire novels. she also managed to create many interesting secondary characters. such as Sam, Sookie's boss, who was a shape-shifter who can turn into any animal; or Eric, the vampire sheriff of Louisiana. they even had a vampire queen, who had a least expected character! the book was filled with so much humor, violence, sensual n love, always intensely captivating. it also showed how much a jerk human can be coming across what was least desirable.

Ookami-san to Shichinin no Nakama-Tachi (2010) オオカミさんと七人の仲間たち

they were students, recruited into their high school Fixer Club. they accept requests from students, divided into groups n tried to fix these problems. after confessing his love for Ookami-san, he was in the same group with her n her partner, Ringo. together she realized he was the guy who always had her back, yet she was stubborn n reluctant to admit her feelings for him.

a lovely anime despite its exaggerated scenes, which mostly resulted in violence. a few particular episodes were dedicated to introduce the main characters, about how they ended up with the club, or opened up their heart to a certain someone. another few episodes on their case solving, showing their teamwork, though sometimes forcefully put together, but in the end, it was all worthwhile.

Regurgitate.

the moment he supported her weight against himself, pulling her up from the floor, the world started turning viciously around her. losing complete control of what she was capable of, darkness came closing in as stars appeared from all possible angles her visual laid upon. panic hit her as she tried to regain control of her body. only then did she noticed that the person who breath so hard n rapid in her ears, was herself. yet not enough air seemed to fill her lungs as she continued to gasp for air. reaching out, she grasped whatever that was in sight, something stable to keep her upright, to not stumble head over heel on the icy concrete. it seemed like forever her head screamed for clarity, n when it finally arrived, she was once again grateful for not being alone under such circumstances.

とっても怖い状態。

Case 39 (2009)

Emily was a social worker. she fought to save a girl, Lilly, from her abusive parents. after having Lilly's psychotic parents locked up in prison, she took an interest in the child when Lilly requested to live with her while waiting to be adopted. it got more n more obvious that Lilly was not who she appeared to be. neither were her parents mentally crazy when they intended to destroy her.

tension increased rapidly throughout the film, especially when it reached a point where it was so clear where the story was heading. yet knowing doesn't reduce its edginess at all. some scenes were so creepy it was difficult not to look around ourselves, making sure the kid was nowhere near us. at that point, the psychological taunt presented was awesome. we didn't have too much of a fright, yet enjoyed a good chill down our spine.

Adam Lambert: If I Had You (2010)

"If I Had You" was Adam Lambert's 3rd single, taken from his debut album "For Your Entertainment" (2009). the video, again portrayed his goth n extremeness in fashion n style. this time, there were even a top hat! with rocking long red dreadlocks underneath. together with a cast of wildly dressed dancer partying in the wilderness. which made the, at first glance a common costume party, so much more fun n hype. especially when he has such a huge voice! below is the video, for sharing purpose only.

Phantom: Requiem for the Phantom (2009)

mafia assassinations were common in the country. they were a mysterious organization named Inferno. their strongest assassin will have a nickname called "Phantom", currently owned by a girl name Ein. a tourist happened to be on the spot, witnessing a murder. while usually witnesses were killed, he was captured n brainwashed for his potential. he was then given the name Zwei. soon he became Inferno's newest assassin, trained by Ein. with no memory of who he was, Zwei was dragged into the assassination world, filled with conspiracy n deceit.

at first glance, the anime seemed like any random assassination anime. but as the episodes proceeded, there was a sense of sadness, which was difficult to miss. a choice that they weren't given the permission to make, a fate thrown onto them just because of their potentials. the anime was slightly lengthy, but definitely worth the time.

Werecats #4: Prey (2009)

with her father's authority position at risk, n her boyfriend, Marc, in exile n disappeared during an ambush, Faythe finally came to accept that she will someday be the Alpha. Manx, a werecat mother who just gave birth to baby Des, was forced on trial, for she had killed 3 toms (male werecats) during her escaping attempts during the tabbies kidnapping in book 1: Stray (2007). tabbies (female werecats) were valuable to the werecats community, so instead of giving her a death sentence, she was to be declawed, a painful n degrading procedure by having one's claws removed. Calvin Malone, Alpha of another Pride, who was desperately plotting to gain Faythe's father's authority, wanted Manx to rely on toms, preferably one of his sons to strengthened his spot in the Council.

with a huge battle coming their way, a small army of toms were assigned to abduct Kaci, the young traumatized tabby in book 3: Pride (2009). the operation went wrong n Ethan, one of Faythe's 4 brothers, was killed gruesomely. the planning of the funeral n the search for Marc had to progress simultaneously. with everything going wrong around her, Faythe had to stand strong, believing that Marc was still alive, bringing them the microchip he held as evidence, even though the temperature was freezing outside, n he has been missing for days.

Gamer (2009)

in the future, Castle came out with mind controlling multi player online games, which he named Society n Slayers. while Society was opened to public, convicts had chip implanted in their head, forced onto the battle field in Slayers, controlled by a player. convict Kable was controlled by Simon, a teenage gamer. he must survived 30 rounds of games in order to be free. when castle overstepped the boundary of creating an impossible character who require no player, Kable knew he won't survive his 30th round. coming to an agreement with his player, Kable was granted the freedom to seek Castle out.

at first glance, the concept of the film seemed relatively simple n straightforward, which was having the player controlling actual people. expecting an average action film, we were surprised to find it so complicated n impressive! the film brought alive gamers' experience, especially when first-person shooters game became real life n Sims-like Society was so believing. however, the varieties of players controlling the character reminded one of how different they can be, n how disturbing as well.

cat.

while i was enjoying myself, capturing any possible angle i got of it. it stole a glance at the camera, i was suddenly offended. for it made me feel like i was doing something purposely to insult it, such as capturing its behind or something. which i was in fact, trying to capture its beautiful stripes, the goldenness of it, looking so welcoming n healthy under the sun.

Kino's Journey (2003) キノの旅

Kino was a young adventurer, set out on a journey by riding on a talking motorcycle named Hermes, which she assembled from junk parts. together they wandered from one place to another, exploring the custom n culture of different towns. she only spent 3 days at each location, on the principle that 3 days is sufficient enough to learn almost everything important about a place. the experience was interesting, sometimes weird, sometimes even deadly. a simple anime, straightforward but unique as each stop will present something different, thus keeping the anime fairly interesting n captivating.

Hearty.

eons since they sat together for a full course meal she so often used to prepare for her. never did she expected to relive those days again. talking n laughing freely at the dining table, enjoying the company of those who cherishes a good meal. dogs barked eagerly at the background, longing to join the party. she was pleased to be placed in an environment so comfortable n new, especially when it was filled with people so genuine n an atmosphere so complacent. they were left leaving the table feeling both satiated n gratified.

すごく楽しいの夕食。

The Rite (2011)

inspired by true events, Michael Kovak was a child brought up at a morgue, where he n his father cleaned up dead people to be presentable during funerals. he entered a seminary school n upon completion after 4 years, decided to opt out from the school by telling his superior that he lacked of faith. he was then sent to Rome, to join a class on exorcism. he met with Father Lucas, who was attending to one of his patient, a 16-year-old pregnant girl. raped by her father led to her being possessed, yet the demon would not revealed its name, leading to numerous continuous events, which forced Michael to confront his faith.

though having a horror genre, there were not much disturbing images in the film, yet it fully utilize our curiosity n anxiety, playing a mind game with us. being a huge fan of Anthony Hopkins, the film was a must-catch for me. he was as believing n mesmerizing as he was in most of his films. some part of us accepted silently the sacrifices needed to make, to just destroy one single demon, at the same time secretly grateful that it wasn't us that it targeted.

Personality Test: Hot Drinks

which drink do you feel like having in a cold morning?
A. hot coffee
B. hot cocoa
C. warm milk
D. hot tea
E. warm water