TenPetunia

Sad news today (for me…and other film lovers). IMDB will be removing its message boards, effective 20th February 2017. Like…why???

This sucks so bad! I  have been going here right after I watch a film or TV series so I can get more information, different perspective - things that I may have missed while watching. I will still visit IMDB since if I see a familiar face of an actor, I NEED to know where I have seen them before. And the trivia section section & soundtrack listing.

I have spent lots of time here and have gotten great recommendations from users. Recently there has been a lot of trolls, especially popular tv shows like Game of Thrones, The Walking Dead and basically all Marvel/DC, Star Wars - those with big fan base. They still can't beat the amazing film buff users who will write details, theories, thoughts and ideas on a film or show that can make me appreciate it more when I watch it again. And I like checking the boards if other people noticed what I noticed and have same thoughts as mine - that connection. I get that passionate when I watch something I love that I need to like indulge on it and get a dose of my film vitamins lol! I checked out my history before it’s gone.

I prefer message boards than reviews on IMDB. For reviews I go to AV Club, especially per episode when I watch - to avoid spoilers. Then after I finish - go straight to IMDB and read the hell out of the message boards. And what about foreign films & non popular ones? Where can I see discussions about it? This is like the extension of my cinema education! Plus when I’m bored - this is my go-to website. Users have been creating a 2nd IMDB message board and I have checked out 3:

http://film.chat/

http://thegotboard.com/ 

https://www.themoviedb.org - around for some time

I know we have bigger problems in life. 

For me this is like a big deal & still fresh lol so let me cry, waaaaaaah! 

With so much anime series being produced and all easily available to watch, I have so much on my bookmark list, all queued up! Some I have started to watch then lost interest or got distracted by another thing to watch (could be live action thanks to Netflix, but that’s like a totally different list - another tricky one lol) Even if it’s not a fave of mine, I usually finish what I started - unless it really doesn’t interest me. 

So this list will be my favorites? or unfinished but still want to watch. Hmm...just a refresher for me as i want to update my brain haha like if I think of my officil fave anime series: Welcome to NHK, School Rumble, Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya, Azumanga Daioh, Lucky Star, Skip Beat...all the things I watched before 2013 (February to be specific, when I moved to SG). And with so much anime series on my list now, just want to clean it up and say hey! i love this one! ^_^ haha, no specific order and keeping it short. Especially with the Japanese names...hard to remember for me. 

1. Chihayafuru 

I actually already included this in my official fave list, hence mentioning it first. Just going with the flow of all things watched from 2013 onwards. Didn’t know a show about playing cards can be so thrilling and this one is freaking emotional too. Always love cute underdog stories and likable weirdo villains. 

2. Shirobako

What could be better than watching anime? Watching anime about making an anime series! Probably the most realistic as there’s no fantasy or exaggerated drama or comedy. Just day to day stress of adults working and yes, that many characters. To actually see how animation studio works, the collaboration of everyone from different departments - and to actually having a finished product. Definitely a must see for anime lovers, to get better appreciation and respect to those working the industry just so we can enjoy watching them. Plus the ending when the girl got the voice acting job, great great job!

3. Durarara

Took a while for me to finish this (GOT, TWD etc) and I was determined cos it is weird, bizarre like what the hell and lots of funny characters and awesome scenery of Tokyo city. One of things I love in anime is seeing real places drawn. I just love the details in the background and Tokyu Hands always making a cameo lol. I’m not really into action but this is just cool, all thanks to Celty! Headless biker chick who’s badass but emo. And the chatrooms, cray cray!

 4. K-Project

Already mentioned that not into much into action but this is visually - the most beautiful art I have seen in anime series (yeah, anime films are separate haha) I got intrigued when I saw a poster for their film Missing K at some bus stop and decided to jump into the series so I can watch the film after. The fight scenes - stunning modern art complete with cool soundtrack. Art aside, I knew I was getting into it when I was really rooting for Mikoto to win.

5. Wake Up, Girls!

I watched 3 animes of ‘idol’ genre (Love Live & Shounen Hollywood) and this is the one that I finished and looked forward to watching the next episode. Catchy tunes (in my ipod), fan service (panties for pervs lol) and just the underdogs with the advantage of having one member as an ex-idol and going after the big corporate idol groups. Plus the head of their agency is wtf hilarious.

6. Kids on the Slope

Music-wise, this wins easily! Coming of age, 60′s setting, Jazz music. Plus I watched this around same time i watched Whiplash so yeah I was kinda adding Jazz music to my playlist. Just saw trailer on Animax, they were performing Favorite Things (Sound of Music) and I was like I have to watch this! Don’t care much for the girl or the romance, I found the friendship story of bad boy drummer and nerdy pianist more interesting and just the excitement & bond forming between them when they jam. Easy to watch, relaxing countryside ambiance.   

 7. Denkigai no Honya-san 

Title is kinda hard for me to remember but I enjoyed watching this. This is like otaku heaven! Perfect setting for otaku characters: a manga store. This is so my type with all the quirky randomness happening and the staff having their own brand of weirdness. Watched this alongside Shirobako so it was a perfect balance, both workplace, with that more serious and this just silly fun. Plus the otaku culture references and cosplay, very amusing.  

8. Stein’s Gate 

For my sci-fi, time-travel kinda fix, it’s this one! Sometimes not sure if quirky or serious, works well with the flow of the story and its characters. Paranoid protagonists are always interesting to watch with their mumblings and witty lines. I have been wanting to see this cos it was always recommended by MAL when I’m looking for something like Welcome to NHK. Plus the geeky hacking working hard and the different timelines, got me hyped! 

9. Polar Bear Cafe

I haven’t finished this one (too many episodes!) but this is the most kawaii thing ever! My go-to anime if I want to feel relaxed it just soothes my brain. A polar bear who owns a café and is besties with a penguin and a panda. Plus the other animal customers, mixed with humans like it’s the most normal thing ever. And my fave character: Panda, who loves everything Panda (panda accessories) and works at the zoo as a…panda! Cuteness overload and the art, not very cartoony which makes it wackier to watch.

10. Food Wars

Currently watching this and I love it! Food in anime always looks so gorgeous and tasty, including everything in this list. But since this is set in a culinary school, this has the most scrumptious food and educational as well – how they explain the recipes and cooking process. This is the only school focused in my list, but it’s not your normal high school as it’s like food network combined with Japanese perviness - they nailed in spoofing hentai through tasting awesome food…it’s just an explosion of flavour and feels.

Honourable Mention (random order):

1. Tokyo Magnitude (the one that made me cry the most, not included in top 10 cos I totally forgot about it)

2. The Devil is a Part-Timer!

3. Eden of the East

4. Space Brothers

5. No Matter How I Look at It, It's You Guys' Fault I'm Not Popular!

6. I Can’t Understand What My Husband Is Saying (short)

Not done with the 1st month of 2017 but this is officially my first new fave movie to watch this year: Once. It has been on my ‘films to watch’ list for like a while after watching Sing Street - another John Carney film. And i did like his other film Begin Again (love the song Lost Stars). All have similar themes...not just music, but the process of making music. 

I love the simplicity of Once -  feels more raw and natural (than Sing Steet and Begin Again). And the songs are really beautiful. I have been listening to it everyday. My top 2 favorite scenes are: Falling Slowly (video above) at the music shop - instant connection through music! Doesn’t have to be a love story between the guy and the girl, just relate and connect for their love for making music. Second one would be the recording studio scene: When Your Mind’s Made Up. I love how the guy who’s ‘pressing the buttons’ was like meh just here to work with whatever wannabee band, and then when they start to play he’s like...what is this? this is actually good - support! And from there it’s just something magical for all of them, that you know these musicians are in their element and will remember it for the rest of their lives, doing something that they are all so passionate about. Everyone inside the studio - just very endearing characters.  

Well I love the whole film so all the scenes are great. My favorite emotional song, Lies. It’s so powerful and heartbreaking, I think most relateable scene as well. 

It’s 2017 and it’s time for a change...of tumblr name lol

Sweet Disposition...I just liked the song from 500 Days with Summer when I actively made this account but no meaning at all haha! 

I ate so much from my last trip to the Philippines! 

I love food and it deserves a special entry. Don't judge me! LOL! 

RIP to my music companion for the last 5 years: Feb 2009 - Jan 2015

Gone girl...vanished! 2,000 songs...and my current iTunes has 247 songs. My hard drive has songs I compiled from 2004? to 2010 after that also gone when my laptop died. 

It's going to be a looooong night trying to remember and find all the songs again. 

AND...all the info i fixed: artworks, genres, artists, albums *sigh

Although exciting...good luck to me :D

really a blessing that I don't have work tom morning :D :D :D

Ready??? OK!

******(Side Story)********

The MAIN thing that made me upset was that, I wanted to replace it with an iPod classic! With MORE storage like 60 or 80 GB so I can have like my own Songza/Spotify premium account without internet connection!

For me, music is like a separate thing from smartphones so I don't want to share storage with my other files. 

Simpsons & Family Guy crossover episode

it was just an okay episode but as fan of both shows, it was really fun to watch for me.

nowadays i watch more Family Guy than Simpsons but when it came to the fight scene between Peter and Homer....i was really rooting for Homer to win!

Welcome to Part Two of my tribute to Pedro Almodovar!

So again, in random order:

 Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown

I think his earlier works are funnier, and really fresh! As mentioned in Kika, they’re on the same level of LOL for me. But this surprised me as I was expecting something dramatic like Talk To Her as the word “breakdown” is in the title. Again, the characters here - all memorable and they have their own moments. The mistress – so great that made me want her red sweater, her friend in trouble w/ police, the cheating husband, his son Antonio Banderas (so young!) and his fiancé (Kika’s maid, like wow - you go girl), the wife – super insane like what the hell, the cab driver, and although minor – the cops, for drinking the gazpacho! Some of my fave scenes: Antonio randomly kissing the friend out of nowhere while his fiancé’s passed out and of course – the insane mother with the insane makeup riding the motorcycle like she’s so badass! This movie is definitely on my top 5!

The Skin I Live In

The most shocking and disturbing Almodovar film for me. The only thing I knew about the film before watching it was Antonio Banderas & Almodovar: interesting (I haven't seen Women on the Verge and Tie Me Up that time) Most of his films has got to do with revenge and obsession but this one is definitely the most horrifying revenge that I would not wish on anyone! Like to transform someone like that, and the way the story was presented like at first I had no clue what was going on then some weird things happened (another comedic rape scene in a tiger costume, wth?), then the flashback...like giving subtle hints on what's about to happen and I'm like no way they wouldn't do that, and they did! Whaaaat, so sick! Fantastic film, great story and twist! 

I’m So Excited

I was so excited to see this film ever since I saw the trailer coz it's comedy (dancing flight attendants) and was familiar with the cast like Javier Camara & Cecilia Roth (Paz Vega, Antonio Banderas & Penelope Cruz - although not really main cast). Semi-disappointed with this film like it's just okay, I wasn't like wow, so great! Still entertaining though - I like the chemistry of the cast in the plane, the FAs were really funny and their interactions with the pilot! The passengers, didn't really care that much for them except the horny virgin one. This is his latest film so far, hope his next one will be better!

All About My Mother

This film got my attention right away because of the references to 2 of my fave old Hollywood films : All About Eve and Streetcar Named Desire. Melodramatic with a lil comedy. My fave scene when all 4 ladies were at the couch just chatting and laughing. I love all the characters (maybe not Nina). Agrado...for the win! Penelope...what a beautiful nun, so sad about her situation though. Huma, at first kinda off (as she didn't give the autograph to the son) but as the movie went on, I liked her character more and more. And Cecilia, very empowering. At first, the other characters were supposed to be helping the mother but in the end, she was the one who helped all of them, in a way. Feel good dramatic film.

Broken Embrace

I need to watch this again as I forgot most of it! Not really memorable (obviously) but I remember Penelope's so beautiful here.

Tie Me up! Tie Me Down!

Instant fave! For me this is a romantic comedy film in a twisted way. I love how Antionio Banderas played his character and combined being psycho, lonely, passionate and mental. Also loved Victoria Abril's character like how she fell for her kidnapper (coz Antonio is so cute here)! Their scenes are so hot and what added to their chemistry is their vulnerability - great acting! Not so many supporting characters like the other films. The sister's great and very likeable. The director...kinda annoying. And of course, very funny to see Rossy de Palma's face again - now as a drug dealer. Also want to say that I love the happy ending - nobody died! It's just so peaceful and made me feel good after watching it.

So here's the 10 Pedro Almodovar films I have seen, so far...

Actually I just got The Flower of My Secret and High Heels, can't wait to watch them. 

Thanks to my Cinema 3 teacher (Prof Overpeck), IFC/Sundance channel and my Y Tu Mama crush Gael Garcia Bernal, I discovered the works of my fave Spanish director, Pedro Almodóvar!!! 

Just want to share my cinematic experience and personal thoughts/views...yup, he deserves a special feature on my tumblr ^_^

(and i haven't written in like a long time that's not work related like proposals etc. hehe)

In random order...

Bad Education

As mentioned, after watching Gael in Y Tu Mama Tambien, I immediately went through his IMDB page and rented all his movies that were available on Netflix! This one though...not really shocking story but like whaaat? I find movies with boarding school setting interesting and this one's pretty dark. So messed up, sad, and sometimes funny but still sad. And until now I would randomly sing in my head: quizas...quizas,...quizas (with lisp).

Talk To Her

Now this is...really something different like the story and Benigno. I know what he did was so so wrong but I felt bad for him. Such a heartbreaking story and I love how the friendship was formed, although I really didn't care about the writer and matador. I just couldn't stop watching this film when I saw it on Sundance, until the ending, like the butt shakin partner dance before the end credits. It may be the music. And of course...Paz Vega's black and white silent film, the shrinking man who went inside her...literally! 

Volver

I saw Penelope Cruz in a new light after watching this film, and learned that her acting is really great when speaking Espanyol. I want to watch this again coz I kinda forgot some parts of the movie. Great film about spiciness of Spanish women (kinda reminded me of Like Water for Chocolate) and mother relationships and of course...crime presented in a hilarious way, Almodovar style. 

Kika 

This one is quite old like early 90's and really really random like the characters are all so over the top! For me this is the funniest (maybe tie with Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown but I saw Kika first!) and so colourful! Rape is not supposed to be funny, but they made it hilarious here and the first time to see Victoria Abril, so annoying as a reporter but what the hell is she wearing with the camera - so crazy and the maid haha can't describe her face but also very likeable character. 

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It's 1:03 am and if I want to write some more but it might be too long and I'm getting sleepy.

I guess this will be Part uno for now. 

Part dos...or tres will be:

I'm So Excited

Time Me Up! Tie Me Down

All About My Mother

Broken Embrace

The Skin I Live In