Sunday, January 31, 2016

2015 Movies ~ My 10 Favourite Moments!

It's one month after the new year but I still got one more list to make for the 2015 movies that I've watched. I've done my top 10 movies of the year (which I separated into 2 parts; the bottom 5 and top 5), now it's time to list my 10 favourite scenes/moments of them.

Before that, I need to remind you readers that this list might contain spoilers, so if you have one or two 2015 movies that you haven't seen yet and planning to do so and want to avoid spoilers, then I suggest you to read another post then.

One more thing; this list is in no particular order. Okay, let's start!


1) The Man from U.N.C.L.E.

Scene/sequence: The opening scene with CIA agent Napoleon Solo (Henry Cavill) extracting Gabriella Teller (Alicia Vikander) from East Berlin while evading KGB operative Illya Kuryakin (Armie Hammer).

There are a lot of spy movies in 2015 and one that I feel was overlooked by many is The Man from U.N.C.L.E.. I think it's a fun movie and Henry Cavill was so charming in it. This opening scene perfectly introduced the three main protagonists and set the tone of the movie.


2) Tomorrowland

Scene/sequence: The world-flip effects when Casey Newton (Britt Robertson) touches the Tomorrowland pin.

I love any scenes that involved the world-flip effects in this movie. They look so incredibly cool and amazing! Even though I watched it so many times already in the trailer before I watched the movie, I was still amazed by it at the cinema.


3) Inside Out

Scene/sequence: The abstract thought sequence.

This is a very fun sequence. I love how they created this place as an area inside a person mind where 3-dimensional objects turned into 2-dimensional shapes and then further turned into lines. I think it represents a place inside our head where ideas are created, where simple lines and shapes could become complex objects. But then again the characters, who are supposed to be the complex objects, are the one turned into more simple 2-dimensional shapes and lines. Hmm...I think I'm wrong with this interpretation. Well, I may not know what it represents but it sure is an interesting and creative sequence.

Thursday, January 28, 2016

My 2015 Top 10 Films ~ No. 5 - No. 1

Welcome back! If you found this post by accident, then this is just another top 10 list where I count down my top 10 favourite movies for 2015. I've already done the bottom half of the chart (you can click here to read it), now let's move on to the top half of the chart.


5 ~ Tomorrowland


I love the plot in Tomorrowland so it breaks my heart to see that the movie got mixed reviews by critics and performed poorly at the box-office. This movie is a big loss for Disney; the production cost around $190 million (and that not even inclusive of marketing budget) but made only around $209 million at the worldwide box office. I think it has a brilliant story, excellent special effects (especially the world-flip effects) and great chemistry between the three main characters played by Britt Robertson, Raffey Cassidy and George Clooney. It does have somewhat of a gloomy premise which might turned off some parents and family audiences who expect the movie to be cheerful and light-hearted. Even though the story is very much different from your usual family-friendly or kids movies but personally I feel that the movie beautifully painted a light tone over serious topics and issues that it wanted to convey to audiences and that makes it a smart movie with great moral values, not just for kids but adult alike.

Image source: Tomorrowland website

Sunday, January 24, 2016

My 2015 Top 10 Films ~ No. 10 - No. 6

You can see almost everyone on the web having their own top 10 favourite films of the year and guess what? You stumbled upon another personal top 10 favourite films list for 2015 and this time it's from... me! Feel free to click away if you had bored yourself reading all of the other people's choices of movies but if you somehow curious to find out if my list of movies have anything in common with your taste in movies, then scroll down to read more. :-)

I will be separating this chart into two posts with five movies in each post. For this one, I will be counting down the bottom half of the chart starting with number 10. Let's begin!


10 ~ Jurassic World


This is the sequel that fans had been waiting for in years, and could be the beginning of a potential new trilogy. Well, I'm not certain myself if it will be a trilogy but at least with the success this movie had achieved at the box office, we can be sure that another sequel is in the works. Some might not like the juggernaut this movie had become because they might just consider it as just another standard popcorn fare, but personally I think it is a really fun movie. It brought nostalgic factor to the old fans of the franchise and sparked new interest to the new generation which when you think about it, kind of a brilliant idea to restart a franchise.

Image source: Jurassic World UK website

Sunday, January 17, 2016

My 2015 Top 20 Songs from K-pop Female Groups ~ No. 5 - No. 1

Welcome to my 4th and final post for 2015 top 20 favourite songs from K-pop female groups. I hope there are some good songs in my list that you like too. Like I said in my previous post, you could probably find some hidden gems here even if you don't really listen to any K-pop songs because music is universal after all.

Before we go to the top 5, here are the links to go to my previous posts for other songs in the chart;

a) Number 20 - 16
b) Number 15 - 11
c) Number 10 - 6

Now, let's wrap this up shall we?


5 - The Ark ~ The Light

From left: Jane, Halla, Minju, Yujin and Yuna Kim

This is an incredible song with an even incredible music video. The song is beautiful and meaningful and coupled that with the music video it just became a masterpiece. The song might just land on my number five spot, but if I would have based my chart on the music videos, the music video for The Light would have definitely be at the number one instead. It's a brilliant and heart-touching story told in just about 3 and a half minutes, which is really amazing. I don't know who the director, screenwriter or even the actress who played the mother are in this music video (the character of the daughter was played by The Ark's member, Halla) but kudos to them and all the people involved for making this piece of art a reality. Such a great accomplishment.


Monday, January 11, 2016

My 2015 Top 20 Songs from K-pop Female Groups ~ No. 10 - No. 6

This will be the 3rd post for my 2015 top 20 favourite songs from K-pop female groups. I've already covered the bottom half of the chart and if you missed my previous posts, you can click here for songs at number 20 to 16, and here for number 15 till 11. It's okay to go through the list even if you don't really listen to K-pop songs before because who knows, you might find some new gems that you might like here.

Let's jump straight to the songs now. Here are the songs that inhabited the number 10 spot until number 6. Enjoy!


10 - 4Minute ~ Cold Rain

Top from left: Jiyoon, Hyuna and Sohyun
Bottom from left: Jihyun and Gayoon

I don't think I ever heard a ballad from 4Minute before. Their promotional songs are usually upbeat songs with fast tunes so I was a little surprised when I first heard this song. It was a welcome surprised though and it didn't even took long for me to fall in love with it. The song featured Gayoon's vocal prowess prominently but the rest of the members contributed well to the song too. I like the music video a lot as well, it has cool settings and all the members' styling were great, they all looked gorgeous in it.


Saturday, January 9, 2016

My 2015 Top 20 Songs from K-pop Female Groups ~ No. 15 - No. 11

Welcome to my top 20 favourite songs for the year 2015 from K-pop female groups. I've started the countdown with the songs from number 20 to 16. Now let's check out the songs that landed on the number 15 spot until number 11.


15 - f(x) ~ 4 Walls

From left: Victoria, Amber, Krystal and Luna

I think f(x) is a very unique group, and one that can appeal to a worldwide listeners, and by that I mean not just K-pop music lovers but everyone. Their music had evolved and become more distinctive compared to the rest of the songs released by other female K-pop groups, which is a good thing as this can separate them from the others and make them stand-out. Their latest offering, 4 Walls, is a fantastic and unique song, which I feel complement their image beautifully. It's their first single as a 4-member group since the departure of one of their member, Sulli.


Tuesday, January 5, 2016

My 2015 Top 20 Songs from K-pop Female Groups ~ No. 20 - No. 16

I think it's not too late for me to wish everyone Happy New Year 2016!

I will kick-start the new year with the annual countdown of my top 20 favourite songs from K-pop female groups for 2015. This is only the 3rd year I'm doing this chart (4th if you count my top 6 favourite K-pop female groups for 2012), if you like K-pop music then you might certainly enjoy these posts. For those who are not familiar with K-pop songs, it's alright to browse through really, who knows you might find some songs that you like.

I will be breaking this chart into 4 posts with 5 songs in each post. Without further delay, let's start counting down from number 20 to number 16.


20 - Girls' Generation ~ Catch Me If You Can

Left to right: Hyoyeon, Seohyun, Sooyoung, Sunny, Taeyeon, Yoona, Yuri and Tiffany

This is their first song as an 8-member group since the dismissal of Jessica Jung from Girls' Generation, and is their first Japanese comeback since Galaxy Supernova in late 2013. Although it's a Japanese comeback, but there are 2 versions of the song and music video available; Japanese and Korean version. I'm really impressed with the choreography, it was fantastic and they performed it very well too. Although I like the song a lot, I don't think I would have like it as much if I hadn't watch the music video the first time I listen to it, the music video did have some impact in my enjoyment of the song. So for first time listener, I would suggest to watch the music video instead of streaming it with audio only. Besides, the choreography is awesome, why would you want to miss that?