Movie Review - Kingsman: The Secret Service

KINGSMAN: THE SECRET SERVICE

          Another movie review? Yes, because nothing interesting happens in my life and all I do is watch movies. So, Kingsman was amazing. There are no other words to describe it. It is such a fun movie with some great action, comedy and some stellar acting. Leading the all-star cast is Colin Firth, who very uncharacteristically in this movie is a total bad-ass! Colin Firth did not feel out of place in this movie at all. He can now kick it with even the biggest action heroes.

         

Other than Colin Firth, Samuel Jackson provided a sinister yet hilarious villain. He is the only villain I have ever heard with a lisp, and yet was still awesome. His hench woman was a woman with blades for legs. I will repeat myself, A LADY WITH BLADES FOR LEGS! She has now reached the highest level of bad-ass as well. Joel Edgerton, the main actor of the movie also did really well. It was the first time I have seen him, but I hope not the last. The whole movie was over the top and very much like a comic book, which is great because it is based on a comic book by the same name.

         

Even with the farfetched plot that by the climax gets incredibly ridiculous, the movie never seemed too unbelievable that I thought it was stupid. When I heard about this movie in the beginning, I was very skeptical. I thought it would try and be too serious and resemble James Bond as much as possible. Luckily, that is not the case for this movie. I do hope Kingsman eventually becomes a multi-film franchise because it is one of the most original movies I have seen in quite a while.

What else can I say but watch this movie, which is by far the best movie of the year so far. If you still need convincing however, here is the trailer for the movie.

WHAT’S WRONG WITH CNY & VALENTINE’S DAY

WHAT’S WRONG WITH CNY & VALENTINE’S DAY

        I am not sure how to approach this question as neither of these holidays really apply to me. I am and have always been single, so I don’t care for Valentine’s Day at all and I don’t celebrate Chinese New Year (because I am not Chinese).

         

            I guess I will start with Valentine’s Day. It is the epitome of love and affection, for one day. From all I know and have heard of, couples do everything they can to prove their love for each other until the day is over and then just wait until one of their birthdays to do anything nice again. I always felt Valentine’s Day was a way for Chocolate and Flower shops to make some more money. It is entirely a corporate sell-out. I can only imagine St. Valentine himself looking over us shaking his head thinking “what is wrong with these idiots?”.

        

            I know not everyone is like this but, the majority is. Why not do small gestures everyday instead of big gestures on a day where everything is overpriced?

        

            As I said, Chinese New Year really isn’t my forte. Every Chinese New Year, I go on holiday with my family and get about RM20 of ang-pau from my neighbours, so, I am indifferent about the subject. The only thing I don’t like about it is the ongoing fire works every night for about two weeks. My dog seems to think they are the devil coming to kill her, so she barks the night away, which is very fun for everyone.

          

           All in all, Valentine’s Day isn’t my cup of tea but that doesn’t matter since I am sad and alone anyway. Chinese New Year offers a chance for some people to celebrate a new year with their family, so it can’t be that bad. Plus, I get a week off school!

Mood in Writing

MOOD

         

          What distinguishes a good writer and a bad writer? It can come down to many reasons but the most likely reason for me personally is if a writer can make me care about what is going on, and how would he or she do that? They can, by adding a distinct mood into a part of that story. All books have a general plot that takes the reader on an adventure. It is then up to the writer to make us invested in that story and want to continue on this quest. I know you are thinking, how does creating a mood make a story better?

          

            In my opinion, mood in a story is the writer’s interpretation of the situation. This mood helps us understand what the writer is trying to convey the gravity of the situation and how it affects the characters in the story. It is not very interesting to read a story that just tells you what is happening. The best part of a book is definitely how a writer makes the pain or even joy of the characters accessible to the reader. When I try to use different moods in a story, I try to imagine myself as the characters and really understand what they are going through.

          

            In conclusion, creating a suitable mood is what makes a good story in my opinion. It provides so much for the reader to further their understanding of the situation.

What Happened on the 5th of March

WHAT HAPPENED ON THE 5th OF MARCH

         

          If you hadn’t already figured it out, I was born on the 5^th of March 1998. As a kid, I knew that it was an important day in the history of humanity but, as I grew older, I realized more and more that this day was not as important to everyone else as it was to me and my family. This has disheartened me a little because it is a great day. I share my birth with many other historic events that have changed the course of human existence. The moment I was given this assignment, I immediately searched through the crevices of the internet to find these such events. Well, to put it nicely, I was quite disappointed with the little amount that I had.

          When researching, the first words I saw were Elvis Presley. Oh my God, do we share the same birthday? Was this when he preformed for the first time? No, this was the day Elvis left the army. Really?! Of all the great things Elvis did I am stuck with the day he quit the army? I guess you could say that if he hadn’t left the army on that day we would not have some of his great music. I am still not satisfied though. Let’s see what else my birthday has to offer.

          This event will surely brighten your mood, on the 5^th of March 1953, ruthless Dictator of the Soviet Union, Joseph Stalin died, putting a smile on everyone’s faces (except the Russians). For those of you who don’t know, Joseph Stalin is up there with Adolf Hitler and Justin Bieber as one of the most hated people ever. Not long after World War 2, Stalin started implementing his rules over the USSR, including spreading communism, ‘cleansing’ the USSR of the impure and much, much more. I would not normally say that the death of another human being was a good thing, but in this context, I think you can agree that not many people mourned his loss for long.

          Speaking of communism, the 5^th of March also marks the day on which Winston Churchill made a speech condemning what he thought was a Soviet Union bent on the expansion of communism in Europe and around the world, during the speech he coined the phrase "The Iron Curtain" which was then used by many future politicians. His speech not only inspired his nation, but the world against the Soviet’s plans and eventually brought peace.

Well, on that high note I am to end this. Even though the 5^th of March is just a date, it was really interesting to see history unfold like that and I hope you guys have better luck with your birthdays.

Movie Review - Whiplash

WHIPLASH

          Whiplash is one of those movies you do not really want to watch twice. That is not to say because it’s bad, because it is not by any means bad. The only word I can use to describe this movie with is intense. Whiplash is a movie about a jazz drummer named Andrew who, just like all musicians, wants to be the best in the business. In the beginning of the film, he is in a music conservatory practicing. While there, a man by the name of Terence Fletcher comes in and hears him play. Mr. Fletcher is the band teacher of the advanced class in the conservatory. After a hearing him a few more times, Mr. Fletcher decides to put Andrew in his band.

          At first, Mr. Fletcher seems like an ordinary conductor but after a while, he becomes one of the most despising characters I have ever seen in a movie. He screams at his students for a slight error and even threw cymbals at some of them. J.K. Simmons plays Mr. Fletcher in the movie and he is amazing. He has provided by far one of, if not the best performances of 2014. His ability to act kind or supportive and cruel or menacing at a turn of a dime is brilliant.

I would have said that this movie was good if they just made Mr. Fletcher the bad guy through and through, but they didn’t. Not only is Mr. Fletcher a man on the edge of insanity, but so is Andrew. The more and more you see of Andrew, the more obsessed with his drumming he becomes. Because of Mr. Fletcher’s continued abuse, Andrew makes sure he becomes even better. At one point in the movie, he breaks ties with very important people in his life because he wants to focus on drumming.

          The back and forth between these two characters is so captivating and at times, nail-bitingly creepy. Why do I say this? There are scenes in the movie where Mr. Fletcher purposely made decisions that would make Andrew’s job harder. I will not give away the ending because I recommend everyone watch this movie. It is very close to becoming a perfect movie. I honestly cannot find any faults with this movie. I will put a link to the movie trailer here. What else can I say? Watch it yourself and find out. I give a 10/10 score easily.

Floods in Malaysia

FLOODS IN MALAYSIA

Over the past few months, many parts of this country have been struck with devastating floods. Many people are now without homes and almost all of their other personal belongings. The floods are being called the worst in the past 30 odd years. Some schoolchildren still can’t go to school. These floods truly did cap off a pretty sour year for the country.

Even though this is a very tragic event and I am very glad it is coming to an end, I think we showed togetherness and unity. I think that is an achievement for a country that has other problems. 

A lot of the aid and relief that was administered was done by the locals out of the kindness of their hearts. I think that is what is so great about human nature, our willingness to stand together through all adversity and look past it.

In the end, I just hope that everyone does what they can to solve this crisis. We need to wake up, we need to put our golf clubs down and try!