G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra (2009)

the film was based on the comic book and cartoon series. McCullen was a weapon master, who created a nano-tech weapon capable of destroying a city. the Nato troops, led by Duke, was hired to deliver the dangerous warheads. they were ambushed by Baroness, Duke's ex-fiancee. they were rescued and took to the Pit, a G.I. Joe's command center led by General Hawk. McCullen planned to use the warheads to cause panic and to gain control over the world after saving the civilians from the warheads. the Joes pursued Baroness with the aim of stopping them from launching the warheads.

despite using characters from the G.I. Joe cartoon series, there were little resemblance. the film was mostly action based, with cool weapons and a clear lines drawing between the good and bad guys. the plot managed to stay on the surface, leaving characters involvement to the minimal. we weren't engage in Duke's shock in finding Baroness involved with the ambush, nor the excitement of the chase. if not compared to its cartoon series, the film may turned out to be one entertaining action flick.

Women of the Otherworld #6: Broken (2006)

sixth book into the series, Broken (2006) returned to the story of Elena the werewolf. she was now pregnant, an unheard situation that caused her and her pack great anxiety. while she welcomed the distraction of stealing the "From Hell" letter from Jack the Ripper, she accidentally triggered a spell on the letter and opened up a portal into the past. not only was the vicious killer unleashed, a pair of zombie was found to be his underlings. Elena was the killer's next target, they had to seal the portal before he succeed.

after 3 books, i welcomed the returned of Elena with opened arms. after a necessary introduction of Jack the Ripper, the book only got better and better as their adventure became impossibly exciting! having the story evolved around Elena's pregnancy was absolutely engaging, as we followed through their mystery solving and watching them struggled to cope with her "condition". the character developments were absolutely awesome, easily had me fell in love with her and her pack all over again, even feeling a slight sympathy for the unlikely characters, such as the zombies.

Oretachi ni Tsubasa wa Nai (2011) 俺たちに翼はない

Takashi had a secret of split personalities that he cannot speak of. he had a younger sister named Kobato and attended high school with his girlfriend Asuka. his second personality was as Chitose, a freeloader that worked multiple part-time jobs. the third personality was as Hayato, a cool guy who would get together with the delinquents at night. while Takashi escaped the real world, his mind would wandered into the magical kingdom as Sir Hawk.

at the very beginning of the anime, Takashi, Chitose and Hayato didn't seem to have any connection with one another. only until the very last few episodes that we were exposed to the possibility that they were in fact the same person. although having a unique storyline, it was highly confusing and uncomfortable for almost 10 episodes. for those who wouldn't hang on for the plot to uncover, would have long quit watching.

Avril x Lotto 2012: Mark Liddell 02

Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance (2012)

based on a Marvel Comic, Johhny Blaze was the Ghost Rider, who exchanged his soul with the devil to cure his father. struggling with the curse, Johnny hid in a remote area, away from civilization. Moreau was part of the church, he appeared and asked Johnny to track down Danny, a boy who was wanted by the devil. Johnny was reluctant to use his power, but it could rid himself of the curse in return.

unlike the sophisticated first sequel, this sequel featured more actions and doesn't really have a strong plot to hold it together. it was most of the time predictable, with a child actor that doesn't quite fit into character no matter how hard Nicholas Cage outshone his. it was extremely fun watching Ghost Rider controlling vehicles other than his motorcycle, although most of it came to an end way too fast. there were even some weird humor, which sort of ruined the deadly feel created for the Ghost Rider character since its first sequel. having watched the first sequel, one can definitely identify a different feeling this second sequel gave out. it may not be a bad attempt, but it still lack attractions.

Women of the Otherworld #5: Haunted (2005)

after following the life of Elena the werewolf in Bitten (2001) and Stolen (2003); following the life of Paige the witch in Dime Store Magic (2004) and Industrial Magic (2004); the fifth book followed the life of Eve the black witch. the story started 3 years after her death. in the afterlife, she continued to watch over Savannah, her daughter under the custodian of Paige and Lucas. frustrated that she couldn't communicate with the living, she sought out channel to do so. the Fates called her in to capture a spirit of a demi-demon that escaped hell, called the Nix. it fed on chaos and death, persuading its host to kill for her. Eve, with Kristof her lover and Trsiel the angel, set out to hunt the Nix.

again, like how side-characters were often portrayed, Eve was far more lovable in this installment than the previous. after a slow start and tons of introductions on how Eve's afterlife was, the book turned fabulously entertaining and fast-paced at its second half. it was fun watching a supposedly "evil" dark witch at her sentimental moments. despite the rareness of book series jumping from one character to another, it was actually refreshing and fun to experience the life of different characters throughout the Women of the Otherworld (2001-2012) series. it expanded our perspectives, seeing through different eyes, experiencing different excitements.

Working'!! (2011)

the story took place in a family restaurant. Souta worked as a part-time waiter, together with Poplar, a high school girl that was easily mistaken as an elementary student, Inami, a girl that punches any guy that walked into her comfort zone. the store manager was Kyouko, but instead of eating all the food in the restaurant, she didn't bother to do any work at all. there were also Yamada, a runaway from home who lived in the restaurant while working as a trainee; Soma and Sato who worked in the kitchen.

like its first sequel Working!! (2010), the anime was highly entertaining and hilarious. although the plot repeatedly applied the issues used in the first season, it managed to remain fresh and comfortable, making us laughed as much as we did. the style reminded me of the Natsume Yuujin-Chou (2009-20012) series, who had no end to its story.

Avril Lavigne: Abbey Dawn Fall 2012

Gantz ガンツ: Perfect Answer (2011)

after Gantz 前編 (2011), Gantz: Perfect Answer (2011) was released to complete its live-action movie. the first half of the movie followed the story from its manga (2000) and anime (2004); where else the second half of the movie steered out of the same storyline and recreated a whole new story. Kei and his gang were continuously summoned by the black globe named Gantz, battled against the aliens and collecting points to revived those that had died as the result. but things changed when the battles were brought into the real world and Kei's girlfriend was the next target to be killed.

like the first part of the movie, Gantz 前編 (2011), the special effects were perfect and captivating. the battles were definitely much more fascinating than the last. the new characters shone in their own way, some stood out even more than the last casts. the alternate storyline was out of our expectation and successfully made the movie even more entertaining. however, the ending sort of imply that this was the definite end of its movie.

Equilibrium.

when she finally arrived at the house, it was past midnight. she found him in the dining room, talking to a lady in her fifties. she hung out of his line of view and waited. waited some more. waited another thirty seconds, then decided to slip closer and see if she could divert his attention. as she drew near, she got a better look at his companion. even from the back, the lady screamed upper-class, with perfect posture and a designer suit. her posture and gestures showed the confidence of a woman who's found her place in life and settled happily into it. but when she circled around enough to see the face, it told a different story. lines were deep enough to add another decade to her age estimation. eyes so red and dry, as if fighting to maintain composure.

近づく滑って。

Yuruyuri (2011) ゆるゆり

Kyouko and Yui made use of the former Tea Ceremony Club room for their Amusement Club. the club had no clear purpose and the girls were free to do whatever they want. their friend Akari soon became part of the club, followed by Chinatsu who originally intended to join the Tea Ceremony Club.

like Lucky Star (2007), K-ON (2011) and A Channel (2011), Yuruyuri (2011) was about the everyday life of 4 and more friends. they did random things together that obviously landed them in hilarious situations. every episode was entertaining in its own way and situation, some of the jokes was a bit too much but some landed perfectly that had us laughing hysterically.

Avril x Lotto 2012

Picture This (2008)

Mandy was a teenager attending high school, with her friends Alexa and Cayenne. she was often bullied and embarrassed by the popular girls led by Lisa. Lisa's boyfriend, Drew also happened to be Mandy's crush. Mandy lived with her overprotective father Tom. with her 18th birthday coming up, she wanted her life to change and to be noticed by Drew. she applied to join the swimming team where Drew was in. she was accidentally knocked unconscious and fell into the pool, waking up to find Drew giving her CPR. they started to talk where Drew took interest in her.

Ashley was less stunning being Mandy than Sharpay, but it was indeed refreshing to see her as the shy girl instead of the popular one. the plot was slightly predictable, but remained entertaining and fun. the familiar father-daughter relationship made the film believable, especially Tom with his overprotective fatherly role. which made him almost as lovable as Mandy!

Flapjack.

she awoke to the smell of pancakes. this time, she knew exactly who was making breakfast and nothing beat a ready made breakfast. she never got used to cook in the morning. by the time she got up, she would be too hungry to mess with stoves or frying pans, sometimes even the toaster was tad too tedious. it was heavenly to be able to crawl out of bed and straight to the table, skipping all the necessary routines to make herself a presentable eating companion. with him, it didn't matter. he had seen worst, just as she had. she buried herself under the covers, waiting for him to come in with the steaming chocolate.

朝食を待っている。

Astarotte no Omocha! (2011) アスタロッテのおもちゃ

in the demon world, Astarotte was the princess of the kingdom. she was a succubus that had just reached the age of 10. it was necessary for all succubus to have a male harem to maintain their body and beauty. Astarotte however, greatly dislike men and would only agree if it was a human male, thinking that human males would be impossible to find. however, her followers managed to come across one that named Naoya. together with his daughter Asuha, they were brought into the demon world and became part of Astarotte's harem.

one way to put it, Astarotte no Omocha! (2011) was different from the usual harem (ハーレム) anime due to both its storyline and background. there were actually unexpected character developments to follow up, building up in depth feelings and preferences towards different characters. while some may expect the anime to go a different direction, it was actually about Astarotte's interaction with Naoya, building up their relationship while getting to know each other better. although at some point, it was rather annoying watching a spoilt princess seeking attention while not admitting the obvious.

Teddy Bears

Teddy Bears had become the most popular gifts for children and partners on Valentine's Day, birthday and Christmas. the name originated from a bear hunting trip between the former US President Theodore Roosevelt (nicknamed "Teddy") and his friends. most of the other hunters had already killed an animal, while his men chased down an American Black Bear and suggested that Roosevelt should shoot it, he refused. but instructed that the bear be killed and put out of its misery.

the image was later used by Clifford Berryman and posted The Washington Post (November 16, 1902). Morris Michtom saw the drawing and was inspired to create a new toy, he placed his creation in his shop window with a sign "Teddy's Bear". Roosevelt approved the usage of his name. the toy was a huge success and Michtom founded the Ideal Novelty and Toy Co. in 1906, ladies and children were carrying them everywhere, Roosevelt even used one as a mascot during his re-election.

127 Hours (2010)

the film was a true story of Aron Ralston, a mountain climber who got trapped in an isolated canyon when a fallen boulder crashed onto his arm. he was forced to amputate his lower right arm with a dull knife in order to free himself. for 5 days he was trapped, his mind traveled in between his childhood and past experiences, giving him courage to do what it took to survive. his book was published in 2004, with the title "Between a Rock and a Hard Place".

despite the incident being a real event, the storyline was way too simple and predictable to be engaging. it reminded us of Frozen (2010), for everything to happen in one spot throughout the film. we were most of the time emotionally disturbed yet failed to feel the intended sympathy towards Aron. he made the choice of distancing himself from everyone including his family, no one knew where he went because he never care to inform anyone. in some way, we felt that he got it coming. but the film seemed to throw a loner and an idiot into the same category. with Aron's intelligence, it was disbelieving that he would be so careless not to mention to anyone of his destination. being a loner couldn't have mean that he must be an idiot, could it?

Tauten.

no matter how much she dragged herself during the flight, the full impact didn't hit her until she were in the airport. she picked up her luggage and headed to the taxi stand, where she realized what she was doing. her chest contracted, heart pounded. by the time she reached the entrance, she was in the middle of a full blown panic attack. he was in full pace in front of her, she reached forward weakly and grabbed his arm. he stopped in his tracks but kept his back to her. her hands were shaking so badly that the people around were starting to stare.

パニック発作。

Dantalian no Shoka (2011) ダンタリアンの書架

Huey received a mysterious key after the death of his grandfather. according to his will, Huey must take custody of Dalian, a guardian of the Archives that contained forbidden knowledge in magical books. he met up with Dalian, who appeared as a child who lived in an estate. he agreed to be Dalian's new Keykeeper and investigating incidents that were related to people misusing the power of these magical books. he had to use his power as a Keykeeper to seal the books and restore order.

the anime was unique in way that the success depended fully on the interactions between the 2 main characters. if separated, Huey was just a calm, cool looking gentleman, while Dalian was a rich, spoilt girl. together, their teamwork managed to solve not only the magical books problems but made them sparkled. in some ways, this relationship of theirs reminded me of Spice and Wolf (2008).

Avril X Lotto 2012

Happy Family 哈比全家福 (2012)

after the production of 媒人帮 (2011), ntv7 together with 8TV and OneFM came out with 哈比全家福 (2012). the story started with the Cong and Jiaxin, a newlywed who returned to their hometown for Chinese New Year. Cong's relationship with his family members were as bad as arguing over every small matter. the place reminded him of the wish he made when he was young, to replace all his family members. after his family planned for a trip without him, Cong was angry and surprised to find them still at home the next day. Jiaxin had accidentally brought the family out from a photograph by using a "Happy Potion". although they looked the same as the real person, they acted completely different.

unlike Astro and MyFM's production, ntv7's approach was more exaggerated. the storyline was absolutely unique, engaging in a sense that we were often left wanting to know what will happen next during the advertisement breaks. what failed to connect us were the exaggerated facial expressions. it threw us off for being unbelievable, having a split image of Singapore's comedy style. despite the intense competition with Astro and MyFM's production in the background, it was actually exciting to see the improvements of Malaysia's film production after a decade. there are still plenty of rooms for improvements, but with competition on the line, we are confident that there will be better productions in near future.

Kvetch.

while she was looking for something to read, he popped in with the reminder. she hadn't forgotten, intended to do it before heading out. she didn't appreciate the reminder, as if he thought she needed one. she didn't know how much he knew about it, nor did she want to know. he would go on and on about protecting her from getting hurt, so much for doing nothing to interfere. she preferred the idea that when she left, she brought along some delusional freedom, with the hope of it transforming into something real someday.

ノンストップぶうぶう。

Anohana: The Flower We Saw That Day (2011) あの日見た花の名前を僕達はまだ知らない

6 childhood friends drifted apart after Menma died in an accident that everyone felt responsible for. 10 years later, Menma appeared in her spirited form, in front of Jinta, the leader of their childhood gang. she reasoned that she couldn't proceed to the afterlife until her wish was fulfilled, yet she can't recall what her wish was. Jinta gathered the gang, believing they can uncover the wish. however coming back together resulted to bitterness and other hidden feelings to resurface, helping Menma meant to help themselves as well.

while adults dealt with death by getting drunk or buried in their work, children were often left feeling lost emotionally that effect them on the path of growing up. in the anime, they were forced to deal with a painful past and maturing in the process. it was constructive, in depth, yet often fun to watch. the plot was so sentimental and heavy, but surprisingly it managed to remain simple and enjoyable! i couldn't help shedding tears at some point, being so engaged in the character developments. the anime was believable and definitely original.

Yuki ゆき

it was a continuous shot from the previous attempt. rarely did he not walk away when we were talking photographs of him, proven how completely absorbed he was with some invisible activity behind us. any slight blockage of his view will caused his head to move sideways, into an angle so amusing we found ourselves chuckling, completely amused no matter how many times we came across that look of his.

Great Day 天天好天 (2011)

at the old folks home, Uncle Lim and Uncle Lam shared the same bedroom. despite their different dialects, they loved to compare whose children were more successful. across the old folks home lived AhFook and his son, who often drove to KL to visit his mother. Uncle Lim hid in AhFook's lorry for a ride to KL, while dragging Uncle Lam along, the latter escaped before they even reach the lorry. AhFook managed to drop Uncle Lim off at his daughter's house, who was a single mother, raising a daughter with the help of a maid. he came to notice that his children weren't as successful as he thought, but after spending a week together, he realized there were far more important things than success.

put together by the same team of people in 大日子 (2010), Astro and My.fm continued their second production aiming for another success. the plot focused mostly on emotions, the relationships between people and family members. from grandparents to grandchildren, people that were often taken for granted. it was touching and engaging, easily drew tears into our eyes. the comedy and jokes were mostly local, with the exposure of dialects and sub-cultures, also showing off the beautiful paddy landscapes in Perlis.

Adam Lambert: Trespassing (2012)

Adam's next album will be released on March 2012, named "Trespassing" (2012). the first single from this album was "Better Than I Know Myself", released in December 2011 and available for digital download. Since his first album, "For Your Entertainment" (2009), Adam mentioned that the past 2 years had been an exciting journey of transformation for him. he co-wrote many of the tracks and claimed that his "shoes and hair" will only get higher!

Mayo Chiki! (2011) まよチキ

Kinjirou suffered from gynophobia. it caused his nose to bleed every time he had physical contact with females. also attending the same high school was a rich girl named Kanade and her butler Subaru. the handsome and popular Subaru was actually a girl in disguise, under the demand of Kanade. Kinjirou accidentally stumbled across this secret and was forced to protect Subaru by listening to instructions from the sadistic Kanade.

we enjoyed the anime so much that it was finished in a minimal sitting. it was humorous watching Kinjirou struggling to get away from any physical contact with the girls, yet so sweet seeing his nosebleed rarely occurred when Subaru was in his arms. the nosebleed scenes sometimes reminded me of Maria † Holic (2011), but unlike Maria † Holic (2011), i find Mayo Chiki (2011) truly enjoyable!

Viand.

it had been barely 10 minutes when the car turned into the driveway. he hopped out from the passenger side. she didn't notice who was driving, for her attention was completely captured by the sight of the large paper bag in his hand. breakfast, not exactly hot and steaming after the drive back from town, but she was too hungry to care. 15 minutes later, the bag was empty, its contents reduced to crumbs and grease marks scattered all across the dining table.

即座に空に。

Ah Beng The Movie: 3 Wishes 阿炳心想事成 (2012)

AhLong was brought into the future after wishing upon a ceramic doll he received on the eve of Chinese New Year, the doll will grant him 3 wishes. his first wish was to see his child growing up. he met with his son, AhBeng who worked as a security guard at a car park. while he was being bullied by some rich drivers, AhLong stood up for him. from there, they became friends and spent their days together, getting to know each other better. he learned that AhBeng grew up without a father, who died and caused her wife to become mentally unstable. he vowed to do something to change the past and AhBeng's future.

correspondence of Astro and My.fm, they came out with their third movie this Chinese New Year. having watched their first movie, 大日子 (2010), we went to the cinema confident that we will be entertained. there were lots of laughter like we expected, but there were also tears we can't help shedding as the scenes rooted in our heart unsuspectingly. Malaysian production had finally come to a point where its viewers wouldn't feel disappointed while leaving the cinema. with 大日子 (2010), we thought it was just an exception; but after 天天好天 (2011) and 阿炳心想事成 (2012), it was a proof that the film industries had finally evolved and improved, having strong storylines to support it, leaving an impression so deep that it stayed in our minds years later.