America's Next Top Model Cycle 19: College Edition ~ favourite photos

StarWorld Asia had just finished airing Cycle 19 of America's Next Top Model which is the College Edition (we are a little bit behind). So I think this is the perfect time for me to feature my 10 favourite photos from Cycle 19 (in no particular order). Since this is the first time the girls have a chance to make a comeback into the competition after being eliminated based on fan's votes, so there are a lot of photos to choose from. To make things easier for me (because some of the girls took amazing photos while eliminated), I would only pick photos of the girls who were not eliminated during the photoshoot.

A word of caution though, I think a few photos in this post would be a bit inappropriate for minors. Parents, you've been warned. Now let's begin!

1) Leila - Waterfall warriors

I love Leila. I think she looks amazing in photos and this particular photo is one of her best, in my opinion at least. I don't know much about fashion, but looking at this photo makes me think that she's already a working model. Since I like her so much, you can expect to see more pictures of her in this post.

2) Nastasia - River raft love triangle

I think Nastasia is a beautiful person, but her photos can be a bit inconsistent. The photoshoot that she did with Rob Evans and a Jamaican male model here is definitely one of her best. She looks great, she's in control and she shines eventhough there are two other models in there. Although I'm surprised that she made it into the Top 4, this photo just proves to me that she deserved it.

3) Laura - Steampunk

Laura received high praise from the judges for this photo of her, and I cannot agree more with them. She looks great here, and I didn't even notice that there is an owl on her hand. She's one of the strongest and consistent girl in this cycle when it comes to photoshoot, and judging from this photo alone, you can tell that she's amazing.

4) Brittany - Apocalyptic zombies

Brittany looks like a sweet, cute girl but don't be fooled by her face. She can take strong pictures too, just like this one from episode 4 of cycle 19. I like this zombie picture of her because she doesn't look sweet and 'Disney' like she was always referred to. Although there is nothing wrong of looking sweet, but in this type of setting, I don't think sweet going to do you any good, so I'm glad Brittany pulled it off.

5) Leila - Cheerleaders

Another photo of Leila. As always, I love her because I think she photographed well. I like this photo with her legs positioned like that. It looks awkward and somehow it looks great. Ironically, this is the photo that got her eliminated. I missed this episode so I'm not sure why people aren't really feeling this photo like I did. Personally, I think this is one of the best photo from this episode.

Artemis Fowl (Book Two): The Arctic Incident ~ review

Title: Artemis Fowl: The Arctic Incident

Author: Eoin Colfer
ISBN: ISBN 0-7868-0855-1

As usual, this review will contain spoilers. If you haven't read the book and would not like your story spoiled, please leave this post right away.

The Arctic Incident is the second book in the Artemis Fowl book series, preceded by the hilarious and entertaining first book, Artemis Fowl. In this second book, criminal mastermind Artemis is back with his manservant / bodyguard / friend, Butler, but this time they are not looking to make more fortune. Instead, they are on a mission to save Artemis's father who had been missing for almost 2 years, believed to be dead by many, and had even been declared legally dead by the courts. At the same time, trouble is brewing underground, in the fairy settlement of Haven City, where an uprising will cause major trouble to Captain Holly Short, Commander Julius Root and the centaur genius, Foaly. Furthermore, Artemis will be unexpectedly involved in the mix in the hope to get some help from the fairy folk in saving his father.

YuYu Hakusho Volume 15 ~ review

Continuing on with my review for YuYu Hakusho manga series, here is the review for Volume 15. This review will contain spoilers, so if somehow you haven't read the manga and would not like your story spoiled, please leave this post now.

For Volume 15, the story continues with the former detective of the Underworld, Sensui, getting closer to open the hole that connects the human world with the demon world. He and his team have also kidnaps Kuwabara, who has the ability to use an aura sword that can cut through dimensions, an ability that Sensui surely needs to complete his mission. Along the way to rescue Kuwabara and stop Sensui from opening the hole, Yuusuke and his friends have to fight Sensui's followers'; Makihara (code name: Gobbler), Kaname Hagiri (Sniper) and Amanuma (Game Master). One of them however, Kiyoshi Mitarai (Seaman) decided to join team Yuusuke and help show them the way to the hole site (where Itsuki the Gate Keeper is performing a ritual to open the hole). With time running out, could Yuusuke, Kurama, Hiei and the others stop Sensui before it is too late?

This volume definitely has a lot of great moments; Kuwabara kidnapping, Yuusuke's fight with Hagiri, Amanuma sad ending, and Kurama's fight with Elder Toguro, who by the way made a special appearance in the final chapter of this volume. I am personally in love with scenes where Yuusuke and his friends have to fight against Amanuma. The scenes have a different vibe or rather a sad tone compared to the other fights which are more fast-paced and action-packed. There are some gory drawings too in the last chapter in the manga (the one involving Elder Toguro) but since the story involves demons, I guess it's kind of normal. But for those who are concerned, then you better keep this volume away from your minors. This volume, although slightly more serious compared to the previous volumes, still has jokes here and there (usually in regards to Yuusuke) which I think in line with what YuYu Hakusho is quite popularly known for; its humorous jokes. Overall, I personally think this is one of the best volumes in the series so far when it comes to the story.

What will happen next? Stay tune for my review of Volume 16 coming soon. Thank you for reading.

Image source from Amazon.

2013 Summer movies ~ What to watch? (Part 2)

I already covered movies that caught my interest and will be released between May and June 2013 in Part 1 of the post. Now in Part 2, I will cover a few other movies that will be released in July and August 2013. Let's start!

July

1) Pacific Rim

I love watching Ultraman TV series when I was a kid so it's little wonders why Pacific Rim caught my attention so much. Starred Idris Elba, Rinko Kikuchi and Charlie Hunnam, this movie is about the world in the near future where monsters started coming out from beneath the sea and bring chaos worldwide. In order to fight these giant monsters, humans had created giant robots to fight them. In between the struggle, two unlikely heroes need to team up and fight these monsters to save the world from total destruction. It may be a bit too much for a non-fan of such genre to take but I really hope this movie will do well at the box-office because if it does, then I'm pretty sure a sequel would definitely be made.

2) The Conjuring

The Conjuring is a supernatural horror film directed by James Wan who had previously directed Saw and Insidious. Starring Patrick Wilson and Vera Farmiga, this movie will tell the story of Ed and Lorraine Warren, the paranormal investigators who were famously involved in the investigation of the Amityville Horror case. But in this movie, it will focus on the disturbing events in the Perron family's Rhode Island farmhouse. Originally planned to be released in early 2013, it was then postponed to open in July due to positive responses it got during test screening. I love a good horror movie, so hopefully this will be one of them as suggested by the test audiences.

Asia's Next Top Model Cycle 1 winner!

Congratulations to Jessica Amornkuldilok from Thailand for winning the first season of Asia's Next Top Model. Congratulations too to both runner-ups; Kate Ma from Taiwan and Stephanie Retuya from the Philippines for making it into the Top 3.

Asia's Next Top Model is hosted by Nadya Hutagalung (also served as head judge) with model mentor Joey Mead King, fashion photographer Todd Anthony Tyler and fashion director Daniel Boey took on the role of secondary judges. The show featured 14 women from all over Asia such as the Philippines, Malaysia, Singapore, Nepal, Taiwan, Japan and India compete to win the title of Asia's Next Top Model (and some awesome prizes as well).

Personally, I think the show was a bit slow in the first two episodes most probably because I was still trying to get used to the whole new contestants and environment, but the show did get better and more interesting after that, and the photoshoots were great as well. Hopefully season 2 would be green-light for production as I feel this show has a lot of potential to become big and influential in Asia. And if they do, hopefully they will keep the current line of judges as I feel they had done a great job in this first cycle.

Again, congratulations Jessica! Hopefully this will be the start of an amazing career for you. By the way, my favourite contestant was Aastha Pokharel from Nepal who finished 5th in the competition. What about you? Who was your favourite contestant?

Image from Youtube screencap.