TV Series: Sense8 (2015)

★★★★/★★★★★

Sense8 revolves around eight different people from around the globe who are mentally and emotionally connected with each other. They are called 'sensates' who are able to communicate, sense and use each other's knowledge, language and skills.

Characters: 

[WILL GORSKI]

Will is a Chicago cop, a man who often shows 'saviour behaviour' which he thinks he's responsible for other's well-being. He is haunted by Sarah Patrell, a girl whose murder his father was assigned to and couldn't solve when he was a child. As a sensate, he shares connection with the other 7 sensates.

I instantly liked Will's character because come on, he's a cop! And he always helps the other sensates especially when they need it the most. He's the first one to connect with Jonas and because of him they're able to save the other sensates from danger.

[RILEY BLUE]

Riley is an Icelandic dj who moved to London because she thought she was hexed and staying in Iceland will cause misfortune to those around her. She blamed herself for the death of her mother, as well as her husband and daughter. 

Her character contributes a lot to the plot of the series and I liked her too. She's scared but she's trying to be strong and her bravery will later on save all the other sensates. There's also a romantic connection between her and Will.


[WOLFGANG BOGDANOW]

Wolfgang is a German thief and safecracker. He has unsolved issues with his late father and his relatives which give him troubles. He's a bad ass and together with his bestfriend, Felix, they rob his cousin which later on leads to a bloodbath.

It's not hard to like Wolfie because he's, well, likeable. Growing up with an abusive father is never been easy so somehow I understand his actions even though it made him a monster. 
Some of his scenes also kinda shocked me because he's German. (If you know what I mean!)
  
[KALA DANDEKAR]

Kala is a pharmacist, working in a successful pharmaceutical company in Mumbai.  She's a devout Hindu, talking to Ganesha when she's lost or troubled. She's also engaged to Rajan Rasal, the CEO of the company she's working at, though she doesn't love him.

Throughout the series, Kala's story revolves around her marriage to Rajan. She doesn't know what to do because her family really likes Rajan and they think that she is marrying him for love. Enters Wolfgang who confuses her much more. Their scenes are all funny and I love them both.


[CAPHEUS "Van Damme"]

Capheus is a matatu driver living in Nairobi, Kenya with his mother who is fighting AIDS. He's desperately trying to earn money so he can buy and  give quality medicine to his mother. Despite being poor and less fortunate than the other sensate, Capheus stays optimistic. He always faces his problems with a positive attitude and lucky enough, he always overcomes whatever comes his way.

I feel bad for Capheus because among his cluster he's the unfortunate one. But hey, he's a good man and he has the other sensate to help him.


[SUN BAK]

 Sun is a South Korean business executive working in her father's company. She's also a kickboxer participating in an underground kickboxing where she feels more like herself. She's currently in prison for taking blame for what her brother did of embezzling money from their company.

Sun is a badass. She puts her anger on her fists and use them until she feels better. It has also helped the other sensate many times especially Capheus when he's in a bad situation. I like her because she's tough and because she's a girl who knows how to fight.


[LITO RODRIGUEZ]

Lito is a closeted gay Mexican actor living with his boyfriend, Hernando. No one knows he's gay but when Daniella, an actress who seems to fancy him, discovers this secret, he thought it would be the end of his career. But then it turns out that Daniela supports his relationship with Hernando and agrees to be his 'beard'.

Lito's character is hard to dislike because he tries his best to be a good straight actor portraying bad ass roles while hiding his true self which I know is hard.


[NOMI MARKS]

Nomi is a political blogger and hacktivist based in San Francisco. She's a proud trans woman and lesbian though her family doesn't support her. She's currently living with her girlfriend, Amanita, and together they are trying to find who wants to hurt Nomi and the other sensate.

Nomi has a painful past and it made her into becoming the woman she is today. Sharing this experience to Lito gives Lito the courage to finally be open and accept who he really is, not hiding anymore.

Season 1 Trailer

I really loved the series and I can't wait for season 2!
The first season ended with Riley saving Will, and automatically the other sensates, and I really want to know what will happen next. I hope all the 8 of them will finally see each other in person and together they solve this mystery happening to them.


[Screencaps]

*Riley and Will's first meeting

*When Kala was scared for Wolgang because he decided to face his Uncle.

Oh, hello there, Wolfgang.

 *Will warning Wolfgang to be careful

 *This was when Will helped Kala when some people at the temple tried to make her leave. Kala said she wouldn't let them scare her and she would be back at the temple and Will said "So will I" in case she needed help. It was so sweet of him.

 *Will and Riley meeting again

 *Right from their first meeting I knew there was some connection between Riley and Will and I'm not just talking about their connection as sensates but something more.
 

*Will didn't want to leave Riley when she was in the hospital because he knew she was in danger. And I think he really wanted to be with her.

 I just love this photo of Will. Hihi :")

 I love them both! :)

 *Capheus-Sun tandem was also one of my favorites. I liked that Sun was always always there when Capheus needed saving which was always. Poor Capheus he didn't know how to fight.

*These two had feelings for each other too but too bad Kala was getting married.

*Nomi needed help so Sun and Will came. Later on, Capheus also showed up because Nomi didn't know how to drive.

 *Riley and Nomi didn't interact a lot but when they did, they always talked about their problems and they encouraged each other.

 *This was when Will was on his way to save Riley when Whispers captured her. He was so determined he didn't even have a plan. Tsk.
 

*I laughed so hard on this episode. Lito was trying to help Will get inside the facility where Riley was but Will seemed not to remember him so Lito reminded him and Will's reaction was epic. Lol.

 *Will finally met Riley but she was unconscious. I loved this scene especially when Will touched Riley and everything flashed back from the first time they met. 

And finally, Will and Riley escaped with the help of other sensates. But Whispers was able to get inside Will's head so now it was up to Riley to save them both but she was having a hard time confronting her traumatic past of losing her baby. 

 Will: I know how much it hurts. I know you want to lay down here and never get up again. I know it, 'cause I feel it. I can feel it. And that means that somehow, somewhere... you can feel what I'm feeling, too... I love you. That's why you can't give up.

 *I know, I know, I'm a sucker for romance.

 

*The last scene where everyone was seen together.

Gah, I can't wait for Season 2! :)
 

Happy Chinese New Year! :)

2016 Is a Fire Monkey Year 

 In Chinese astrology, each year is associated with a Chinese zodiac animal sign and one the Five Elements: Gold (Metal), Water, Wood, Fire, or Earth. Both the sign and element of your birth year are said to affect your personality and destiny. Element-sign combinations recur every 60 years. 

Fire Monkey (...2016, 1956,...) 

- Ambitious and adventurous, but irritable

Wood Monkey (... 2004, 1944...)

- Always ready to help others; compassionate, with strong  self-esteem, but stubborn

Water Monkey (...1992, 1932...)

-  Smart, quick-witted, fond of being in the limelight, but haugthy

Gold Monkey (...1980, 1920...)

- Smart, quick-witter, and confident, but also irritable and stubborn

Earth Monkey (...1968, 1908...)

Frank, optimistic, and fearless 

  ---

Lucky numbers: 4 and 9

Lucky days: the 14th and 28th of the Chinese lunar calendar month

Lucky colors: white, blue, gold

Lucky flowers: chrysanthemum, crape-myrtle

Lucky directions: north, northwest, west

Lucky months: Chinese lunar months 8 and 12 

---

Unlucky numbers: 2 and 7

 Unlucky colors: red, pink

 Unlucky directions: south, southeast

Unlucky months: Chinese lunar months 7 and 11 

To read more visit China Highlights.

LITTLE MIX LIVE IN MANILA 2016

The girl group behind Black Magic and Love Me Like You is coming to Manila for their The Get Weird Tour!

It's happening on May 20th, 8PM at Kia Theatre.

For more details visit Manila Concert Scene. 

Black Magic 

Love Me Like You

 

2AM Playlist ♫♪

Hey There Delilah by Plain White T’s ♪
Bad Day by Daniel Powter ♪
The Scientist by Coldplay♪
Secrets by One Republic♪
You Found Me by The Fray♪
Broken Strings by James Morrison ft. Nelly Furtado ♪
Chasing Cars by Snow Patrol ♪
Wherever You Will Go by The Calling♪
Hero by Enrique Iglesias ♪
Let Her Go by Passenger ♪
Wake Me Up When September Ends by Greenday ♪
Pair of Wings by Justin Timberlake ♪
25 Minutes by Michael Learns To Rock ♪
You and Me by Lifehouse ♪
24 Floors by The Maine ♪
Leaving California by Maroon 5 ♪
Hey You by Boys Like Girls ♪

Just sharing my playlist to everyone. Hope you like it! :)

February 2016 Music Videos

 New Bohemia - Transviolet ( Feb 1, 2016)

Secret Love Song - Little Mix ft. Jason Derulo (Feb 3, 2016)

Money - Lawson (Feb 4, 2016)

Opinion Overload - Simple Plan (Feb 4, 2016)

The Story of Tonight - We The kings (Feb 4, 2016)

 From The Ground Up - Dan + Shay (Feb 5, 2016)

Ferris Wheel - Yeng Constantino (Feb 5, 2016)

Ophelia - The Lumineers (Feb 11, 2016)

Cherry Wine - Hozier (Feb 13, 2016)

Missing You - The Summer Set (Feb 18, 2016)

Stone Cold - Demi Lovato (Feb 23, 2016)

Youth - Troye Sivan (Feb 24, 2016)

Colors - Halsey (Feb 25, 2016)

The Sound - The 1975 (Feb 25, 2016)

Movie Trailer: Me Before You

I've been waiting for the trailer since forever and now it's finally here!
Are you ready to cry? 

Coz I'm ready to cry, Will. I am.

Me Before You + Ed Sheeran = A bucket of tears! 

I remember when I was reading the book and my heart was breaking throughout. I was like, 'Why, will? Why?' :"( I'm feeling the same with the trailer and now I can't wait to see the whole movie. 

“You only get one life. It's actually your duty to live it as fully as possible.” 

Read my full review of Me Before You here.
 

#liveboldly

Book: A Gallagher Wedding (Short Story) by Ally Carter

★★★★★/★★★★★

Gallagher Girls will always be my favorite. Ever!

     I saw my mother in her ivory gown, Bex and Aunt Abby carrying the train as they walked from the P&E barn toward the gardens where people waited in white folding chairs. Mr. Solomon and Townsend stood at attention at the front of the crowd. Even in July and on his wedding day, Joe looked cool, like he had planned every possible outcome for that moment, and things were going exactly according to plan.

    “The bride and groom have requested that their maid of honor and best man join the ceremony,” Liz said, holding out my high-heeled shoes. “Besides, you guys have the rings.”

   “What do you say, Gallagher Girl?” Zach offered me his arm. “Do you want to join them?”

   I turned into the light.

  “I do.

And I do, Zach. I do! :")

Book: An Ember in the Ashes by Sabaa Tahir

★★★★★/★★★★★

“There are two kinds of guilt. The kind that's a burden and the kind that gives you purpose. Let your guilt be your fuel. Let it remind you of who you want to be. Draw a line in your mind. Never cross it again. You have a soul. It's damaged but it's there. Don't let them take it from you.”

First of all, I want to say that I have my new favorite series. 

Second, Laia is a strong and brave girl.

Third, Elias is a good person.
Fourth, Commandant is a wicked, heartless woman.

Lastly, I applaud Sabaa Tahir for writing this wonderful book.

An Ember in the Ashes is one heartbreaking and powerful book. It captivated me the moment I started reading it and now that I finished it, I can no longer wait for the next book!

The story is told alternately by Laia and Elias, a slave and a Mask in Blackcliff.
Laia is a strong-willed, brave girl who will do everything, even to be a slave to the heartless Commandant of Blakcliff, just so she could help break her brother, Darin, out of prison. Elias, on the other hand, is one of the best Masks at Blackcliff where power, loyalty and brutality rule everything. It's the one place he doesn't really want to be in but doesn't have a choice since he was chosen to be there. He's been inside Blackcliff almost all his life, training and planning his escape one day. These two characters will show us how to fight, to be brave, to stand for what we believe in, to fail but stand again and to never stop having hope. Because as long as there's life, there's hope.

This book made me realize how lucky I am to be living in a world like this and not inside a world like Blackcliff. Because I really don't know how I could survive like Laia or Elias or anyone in the book if I were them. But then I realized that there are actually places in this world like Blackcliff where people suffer and die on the hands of brutal and heartless people. It's sad to think that there are really people who abuse their power and enjoy the pain of others.

Heartbreaking it may be, this book is one hell of a book. I can't imagine how Sabaa Tahir managed to write a book as good as this. It's definitely a must-read!

Veturius smiles that knife's-edge smile. "Look at us," he says. "Scholar slave and Mask, each trying to persuade the other they're not evil. The Augurs do have sense of humor, don't they?" 

Movie: The Kings of Summer 2013

 ★★★★★/★★★★★

This movie left me heartbroken. For what reason? I'm not sure. I just found myself still crying even after it ended and I guess I should stop being so effin' emotional about everything! :"(

I recommend this film not only to teenagers but to everyone for it not only teaches us a thing or two or a lot about being a teenager but it also shows us how the lack of parental guidance affects us and how people around us contribute so much in our upbringing.

I connected so much with Joe because when I was younger I also felt the need to get away, to move far enough so no one could find me. And I guess there's really a time when everyone feels that way. When we feel like we need to get away from everyone else to find ourselves, to find want we want and to know if we really want it.This film got me so emotionally engrossed and I love how it teaches us things about life, friendship, love and self-sufficiency.

Movie: Strange Magic 2015

 ★★★★/★★★★★

I actually loved this one despite the negative reviews I've read online. I enjoyed it, it has a good message and that's what matters right? I'm not an expert on reviewing movies but it's fun and I love that it tells us that we all deserve to be loved no matter who/what we are. I also enjoyed the singing and dancing and how Marianne is a strong and independent woman. This is actually a good movie. :)

Movie: Pan 2015

★★★/★★★★★

I've always loved the story of Peter Pan but seeing this prequel movie, Pan, disappointed me a bit. I mean, I'm fine with the characters singing but watching Blackbeard sing is a bit strange for me. The plot is good, the casts are new to me, everything else is fine but there's something about it that is off. It's not like those movies I instantly like from the moment it started and I just don't know why. Maybe because I was expecting more? More story? More action? More adventure? I'm not sure myself but it's definitely not what I expected.

So the story basically tells us the beginning of Peter Pan, from when his mother left him in an orphanage, leaving him a necklace with a flute pendant and a note saying that she just did what needed to be done and that someday they will meet again, to when the pirates came to take the children to Neverland and to the point where Peter can already fly. (I was chanting I do believe in Peter the whole time! tsk) 

Other than the film made on 2003, I've never read or watched anything related to Peter Pan (and oh, I've seen Peter Pan and Hook on Once Upon A Time, if that counts) so hearing about this movie excited me a lot. But now that I've watched it, I can say that I'm fine with the film Peter Pan (2003) as it is. I've also never seen the film where Robin Williams starred as Peter Pan but now I'm planning to watch it.

Overall, I give it three stars and it's only because it was good to see Hook and Peter Pan getting along so well. :)

 Now let's go second star to the right and straight on 'til morning!

Movie: The 5th Wave

★★★/★★★★★

Characters:

Chloe Grace Moretz as Cassie Sullivan

Nick Robinson as Ben Parish/Zombie

Zachary Arthur as Sammy Sullivan

Liev Schreiber as Colonel Vosch

Ron Livingston as Oliver Sullivan

Alex Roe as Evan Walker

Maika Monroa as Ringer

Summary from Wikipedia:

The 5th Wave follows 16-year-old Cassie Sullivan as she tries to survive in a world devastated by the waves of alien invasion that have already devastated the Earth's population and knocked humankind back to the Stone Age. As one of the planet's last survivors after her father was killed in a massacre by the army, Cassie has to learn the hard way to trust no one. The only thing that keeps Cassie going is the hope that she can save her 5-year-old brother, Sam, from a "training" camp established by the Others (the aliens). Cassie and Ben Parish, who was her crush in school, narrate a good majority of the story, along with several supporting characters who offer different perspectives. The Waves were planned attacks used by the Others in their attempt to take over planet Earth, but the reason for their desire to inhabit the planet is much deeper than that and has a lot to do with humanity itself.

I don't really like watching movies based on books but this one looked pretty good. I was all excited and curious about the story but watching it left me more curious and disappointed.
 

It started strong with Cassie narrating and telling us what happened and finding an abandoned store with a man calling for help. She was armed with a rifle gun so she braved and went to where the man was calling. They both pointed a gun to each other but Cassie had the upper hand since the man was weak and on the ground. They both shouted for the other to put the gun down and when the guy realized that he can't win, he put his gun down first. Still unconvinced that the guy wouldn't hurt/kill him, Cassie ordered him to lift his other hand which by then was inside his jacket. She insisted even though the man told her that his intestines or something else might fall out when he removes his hand. The man made his resolve by slowly revealing his hand and when something reflects, to which Cassie reacted quickly, bullets found their way to his body. It turned out that the man was holding a crucifix and it reflected when he moved his hand. 

It continued with Cassie running away and telling us what she was doing before everything happened and it was where the story began.

I loved how the story started, with all the waves and what happened until to the point where Cassie was separated with his brother, Sammy, when US Army appeared and told them they were going to help the survivors but they can only collect the kids by then because of the lack of transportation. From then I knew something was wrong and it proved me right when Cassie witnessed the murder of her father and other people in the camp. (I hate you, Vosch!) They also didn't show or tell us what the Others truly were and it confused me even more when Evan (oh, he's the guy who saved Cassie when she was shot --- but he was like a stalker too, if you ask me) can jump high around and he had super powers when he was fighting those people in the woods. I was like whoa, you didn't tell us you have another super human character in the story (but of course it only meant he was one of the Others and that maybe Others were like him too, or he was like them, whatever!) Anyway, on the other hand, while Cassie was resting and Evan was tending to her, Sammy and the other kids (including Ben Parish, Cassie's crush) that Vosch and his team collected, started their training so they can fight the Others too. Vosch brainwashed them and taught them how to fight and kill. And that was where the twist happened. (I hate you, Vosch!)

I give it three stars because it had a good plot but the idea of using the kids to exterminate the remaining people on earth was a bit scary and heartless at the same time. (Ooops!) I mean, they knew that kids can be manipulated and that they easily believe what the adults tell them but to teach them how to kill people in early age, oh my god. The Others are insane! Tsk. I would also love it if they added something to support why the Others wanted to invade Earth and another something for the viewers to get the idea what/who the Others really were. But I guess there's a reason why this movie is based on a Trilogy. And I love Ben Parish, btw. :)

Now I plan to read the book (because it's a trilogy!) and I hope to love it more than the movie. 

Based on a novel by Rick Yancey

Title: The 5th Wave

PubDate: May 7, 2013

Page count: 457