Ranking the superheroes in Captain America: Civil War film

I've finally watched Marvel's Captain America: Civil War and it was a fun experience. Instead of a regular movie review I've decided to do a ranking of all the superheroes/enhanced humans that were featured in the film like I did with the movies The Avengers and its follow-up, Avengers: Age of Ultron. After all, this movie does feel like an Avengers movie with so many characters involved.

This list will only featured the 12 characters from each side of the teams, team Captain America and team Iron Man, so villain like Crossbones and awesome supporting character like Sharon Carter would not be in this list. I might exposed some plot points too so please be aware that this post might contain spoilers for the movie.

Now let's move on with the chart. We start from the bottom and make our way to the top of my list, let's begin!


12) Vision (Paul Bettany)

I think Vision is a very unique character but he didn't really featured a lot in this film, so that is why he is at the bottom of my list. To be honest, I think he is quite powerful, in fact he might be too powerful that the other characters might not stand a chance if the filmmakers decided to fully utilize him in this film. Anyway, I hope the studio will continue to explore the character in the upcoming Marvel movies. He is a very interesting character after all.


11) James Rhodes/War Machine (Don Cheadle)

What happened to James Rhodes near the end of the movie is very tragic, but I didn't really feel connected with the character so I placed him near the bottom of my list. But I think it is important to note that he was quite crucial in relation to Tony Stark's character development. I guess he will not be featured much anymore in the future films considering what happened to him but you'll never know because when it comes to comic book movies, anything is possible.


10) Clint Barton/Hawkeye (Jeremy Renner)

Here's another character that was not much involved but since I already love him from the Avengers movies, he managed to make quite an impression on me even with so little screen time the character had in this film. I especially love the scene in the middle-of-ocean prison where Clint Barton was locked up and the banter he had with Tony Stark there. He is a great character, one I really like so much, so I hope he will continue to be featured in the Marvel movies.

Ranking the Avengers in Avengers: Age of Ultron

I bet plenty of you had watched Avengers: Age of Ultron, maybe even more than once. It's a great movie and I like it a lot. But which Avenger is your favourite? Instead of a regular movie review, I've decided to rank the Avengers like what I did when the first Avengers movie came out, but this time I will rank it in order from the bottom to the top (I ranked it randomly in my post for the first movie). I will only list the main characters so there will be 9 Avengers altogether. There will be no major spoilers here but if you haven't watch the movie and want to avoid any kind of spoilers (even the smallest one that may already have been revealed in the trailers and TV spots) - and to be fair, there are some minor spoilers involving a character's origin included here, you best leave this post right away. So which Avenger will be on top of my list? Let's start from the bottom and work our way up the list. Let's begin...Avengers assemble!


9 - Thor

At the bottom of my list is Thor (played by Chris Hemsworth on the silver screen). He is quite popular with the ladies and I think Thor is an interesting character too. However, I always feel that he didn't fit well with the team, always seems like the odd one out. Even though Thor's solo movies were not as highly acclaimed compared to some of the other superhero's movies from the team, at least he is more outstanding, or should I say he has stronger presence, in his own movies rather than in an ensemble team. Furthermore, he didn't have a strong character development in Avengers: Age of Ultron, and most of his scenes were focused on his abilities and the power that he possessed. Nevertheless, Thor still looked awesome in this movie, and his scenes when he used his hammer to call on the lightning were really amazing. I'm looking forward for his next adventure on the big screen with his third solo movie.


8 - Quicksilver

Oh Pietro Maximoff a.k.a. Quicksilver ~ I think it was quite unfair the way the movie handled the character at the end of the movie. He's a particularly interesting character and his relationship with his twin sister was one of the aspect that I like about this movie. Aside from that, his banter with Hawkeye were fun to watch too. Aaron Taylor-Johnson played the character well, and he definitely made an impact in the movie, especially in the final battle with Ultron. However, I felt that the character could have been developed more, that was also why I'm quite disappointed with the way the character was handled in the end, such a waste, a missed opportunity. From the studio point of view, I kind of understand why they had to do that, but still, it was a tad unnecessary.


7 - Hawkeye

Clint Barton a.k.a Hawkeye is a cool character, I like him. A lot of people complaint the way the character was handled in the first Avengers movie, so here in the sequel we can see they had expanded his role and make him more relevant to the team. Even from the first movie, I can see he is a great asset to the team, so I don't really have any issue with how he was handled in the first film, but to see the character developed even more in this movie is certainly delightful. The character and the actor playing him, Jeremy Renner, really deserved it. I really hope the studio would insert him in other solo movies the way they did with the Black Widow character, that would greatly help to make Hawkeye even more important and recognizable in the Marvel Cinematic Universe like the rest of the Avengers.

Yuna new single I Wanna Go ~ Awesome stuff!

Yuna is a Malaysian-born singer-songwriter who is currently working hard to expand her career in the US and so far, I might say, she's doing pretty good although she still has a long way to go. For those of you who don't know, she's the voice behind The Croods soundtrack, Shine Your Way with Owl City. She was first known through MySpace and with a strong following, entered the Malaysian music industry and became popular with songs like Yang Sebenarnya, Penakut and Terukir di Bintang. And now she's promoting and performing her music in the US after signing with a music label there.

She had just released a new single called I Wanna Go. Although I was never really a fan of her songs before (I'm more in love with her voice than her songs), but I must say, I Wanna Go is a pretty solid song, and I like it! It has good, kind-of-happy beats and Yuna's voice works perfectly well with the melody. I hope this song will get her more fans and recognition because I really think she deserves it.

You can check out her music video for I Wanna Go here. Enjoy!

Rating the superhero in The Avengers film

I had watched the movie and instead of a regular movie review, I think I will just write down about what I think of the superheroes that were featured in The Avengers and how they fare with each other. Let's start!

Captain America

Captain America (or Steve Rogers) character was played by Chris Evans. He's a charming character and certainly a gentleman compared to the rest of the superheroes probably because he is a man from the past. It's interesting to see that he's the opposite of Robert Downey, Jr.'s character, Tony Stark @ Iron Man where he is always in a serious mood while Tony Stark seems always in a no-I'm-not-interested mood. He has a strong presence among the other superheroes and certainly will gain a lot of fans (especially girls) with his handsome feature.

Iron Man

Iron Man (or Tony Stark) played by Robert Downey, Jr. incredibly well, just like he did with the previous two Iron Man movies. In my opinion, he is the best played character among all the other superheroes in the film. He grabbed attention every time he is on screen with his witty and sarcastic comments and carefree and almost arrogant attitude. I think he will have the most fans among guys with his high-technology and cool Iron Man suits. And he is more than just a mortal in an armor suit; his strength is equivalent to the other characters like Thor and Hulk and he can fight drones of armies from another world just like the rest of the team.


Hawkeye

Played by Jeremy Renner, Hawkeye aka Clint Barton is the only character in the film who were not featured in the other Marvel Cinematic Universe's movies before. Because of that, he is a bit overshadowed by the other superheroes, but the movie still managed to portray his strength and agility in fighting that made him even more deserving to be in the team just like the rest of the superheroes. With his bow and arrow, he had that charisma and a cool vibe everytime he's in a fight scenes. Hopefully they will feature more of him in the upcoming movies in the series.

Thor

The mighty god of thunder was played by Chris Hemsworth. I feel like his character was a bit downplayed compared to the rest of the superheroes eventhough the incident in the film should be more personal to him because of the involvement of Loki, his adoptive brother. But he still gets plenty of screentime to charm the audience with his godly power. I just hope that they put more emotion to his character than bragging about his strength.

Black Widow

The only female superhero in the team, Black Widow (or Natasha Romanoff) is played by Scarlett Johansson. I'm glad to see that they had developed her character into a more prominent role in the team. She's not just an eye candy or someone's love interest, she's a fighter and she fights alongside the boys against the alien enemies. I like strong female character and Scarlett Johansson certainly played her character well.

Hulk

Dr. Bruce Banner or Hulk as he was called when he turned big and green, played exceptionally well by Mark Ruffalo, seems like the unwelcome superhero in the team. But I'm happy to see that he has a fan in the form of Tony Stark. I like the scene where he had a conversation with Tony Stark aboard the SHIELD aircraft carrier. Mark Ruffalo's interpretation of Dr. Bruce Banner @ Hulk was refreshing and a great addition to the film. His character was certainly my favourite from all the other superheroes of The Avengers. Hopefully  they won't change the actor anymore for this character.


There you have it, my take on the superheroes that were featured in The Avengers. As I wrote above, my favourite pick is the Hulk. What about you?

Images from Yahoo! and Screen Rant.

Utada Hikaru ~ Top 10 Favourite Song part 2

Here are the remaining 5 songs that complete my top 10 list.



1. Beautiful World

Another great song from Utada. It was featured as a theme song for the Rebuild of Evangelion movies. I like the piano sound in the song, well I think it was the piano. Anyway, it was very relaxing listening to this song. There's another version called Beautiful World: Planitb Acoustica Mix that were released for the 2nd rebuild film, Evangelion: 2.0 You Can (Not) Advance. This version is pretty good too. You should definitely check it out.



2. Wait & See ~ Risk

This one is included in Utada's 2nd Japanese album, Distance. This song is kind of upbeat and fast compared to the other songs on the list. I love it very much and it's one of the songs that got me really interested in her music.



3. Be My Last

Another strong ballad from Utada Hikaru. Very slow, very emotional, and very touching. She played more with her vocal and sound of her voice than just singing the lyrics which might sound a bit strange at first. But take a listen carefully and you might appreciate the emotion that coming out from the song.



4. Hikari

Gamers may recognize this song as the theme song for Kingdom Hearts video game series. The English version for this song is called Simple and Clean. The song started out with no music intro, it was like you just switch on the radio and the song was already playing. I think it was creative for her to start the song that way. You should check out the music video for Hikari too, very simple and creative. I love it!



5. Heart Station

I love the beat to this song. It was really soothing and calm. Although this list of my top 10 favourite Utada Hikaru songs come in no particular order, I can assure you that Heart Station sits somewhere in the Top 3. I also love the music video which was mysterious and simple, which of course fits the song. Another great song from Utada that begs people to hear it over and over and over again.


So there you have it, my 10 most favourite songs from J-Pop sensation, Utada Hikaru. If you haven't listen to any of the songs yet, I recommend you to do so because these are, in my opinion, some of her great works of art. Enjoy her music!

If you missed out Part 1, please click here.

Utada Hikaru ~ Top 10 Favourite Song part 1

Utada Hikaru is my favourite J-Pop artist. She's definitely one of the biggest music icon from Japan. Unfortunately she's taking a break now from releasing new music, so I guess we won't be hearing from her anytime soon. To somehow fill the void of missing her, I came out with a list of my favourite songs from her. However, I only count songs that were released as singles, easier to make my choices that way.



1. Exodus '04

The only English song in the list, Exodus '04 was taken from Utada's English album, Exodus. It has that unique sound that so common in Utada's other songs like Sakura Drops and Colors. It's such a great song, too bad it doesn't have its own music video.

2. Final Distance

A very sad song. Although I don't really know what the direct translation of the song, but I still could feel the emotions pouring out from the song. The song was actually rearranged from 'Distance', a song from Utada's 2nd album. She wrote it as a dedication (I think) to a young schoolgirl who was 6 years old when she was killed in a school stabbing rampage. Utada heard that she wrote an essay about how she wanted to become a singer just like her. Now you know why the song sound so sad.

3. Keep Tryin'

A very positive song that urge us to keep on trying in life. It was quite an energetic song and kind of playful too. It has an upbeat and cheerful tone that suit the message that it brings. The music video for the song was one of my favourite video from her too. You should check it out.

4. Sakura Drops

I think this song is one of the most played Utada Hikaru song on radio in my country. Well, I can't confirm this, but it was pretty popular back then. The song had a unique traditional touch that set it apart from other J-pop songs that I listened to. Very unique indeed. I love the song and I think other people that don't really listen to Japanese songs can find it very interesting too.

5. Prisoner of Love

It's not really a ballad but the theme for the song was quite...melancholic? Well, I don't know what the song was really about, yet again, but the music and tempo does sound like it was a sad song. The title also suggested the same right? But like I said, it was not really a ballad, it was kind of upbeat. I like the beat and the way the sings 'I'm a prisoner of love' and 'Stay with me' through the end of the song. It was rather touching.

That was 5 of my favourite songs from Utada Hikaru. To find out which 5 more songs made the list, please click here for Part 2.

Wonder Girls on US television

Image source: Asia enews

Yup, the girls have been busy promoting their music in the US. They already had their hit single Nobody in the Billboard Top 100 back in October, had joined the Jonas Brothers on their North American leg of the Jonas Brothers World Tour 2009 and recently they have performed on So You Think You Can Dance. You can watch the video of their performance here. So cute!

For those of you who don't know, Wonder Girls is a South Korean girl group. Some of their popular songs are Tell Me, So Hot and Nobody. Yay to K-pop!!!

What's happening in December 2009?

Mmm...a lot of things happening around me in December 2009.

1. Britney Spears' birthday on December 2, 2009.
- It's today! Okay, as a fan, I just have to make a shoutout...Happy Birthday Britney!

2. My friends' wedding
- Two of my friends are getting married in this month. Well, I can only go to one event since the other one is too far away. Still planning on what to wear, I don't have much suitable clothes for weddings.

(image from Bleach 7)

3. Bleach premiere on Animax Asia
- Finally...Bleach anime will premiere on Animax Asia (Channel 715 on Astro Malaysia) on Dec. 18, 2009. I can't wait! I really hope they enable bi-lingual audio since I like watching it in Japanese. But of course they need to provide subtitles as well since I cannot understand Japanese. :-P

4. My niece birthday
- I MUST NOT forget this. My niece is turning 2 this 23rd December. Now...what should I give her? I cannot decide!

(image from Wikipedia)

5. Avatar coming out on Dec. 16, 2009
- I had promised myself that I will go to see this movie. I must! I feel like I will be missing something totally amazing if I miss it. Sometimes I will feel very excited about a movie but when the movie comes out, the excitement died away and I will have no interest to watch that particular movie anymore. So hopefully this time I will not disappoint myself. And I'm also hoping that Avatar is as good as it looks in the trailer.


Mmm...so far, that's all I can think of.

CeleBRITion! My top 5 favourite Britney's singles

I'm so sorry. I couldn't resist myself.

Here are my Top 5 Favourite Britney's Singles.


5 ~ Me Against the Music feat. Madonna

It's catchy and just makes me want to stand up and dance. I absolutely love the fast-part before the chorus (sorry, I don't know what its called). There are a lot of good tracks in In The Zone, (Britney's fourth studio album and where this track came from) but Me Against the Music is absolutely one of the best.




4 ~ ...Baby One More Time

Addictive and infectious. When I first heard the song, I fall in love with it. One of the reason I love Britney is because of this song. I reckon she would not be as famous as she is today if it wasn't for this song. Max Martin (writer & co-producer of the song) really knows how to produce a good pop song.





3 ~ If U Seek Amy

I know the lyrics is somewhat inappropriate but the song is so addictive that I don't really mind about it. Another track by Max Martin (he co-wrote and produced the song), this song sparked another controversy in Britney's career. No need for me to explain more on that. Anyway, the strong pop sound with easy sing-along chorus, this song is one of the standout track in Circus (Britney's sixth studio album and where the track came from).



2 ~ Break the Ice

The first moment I heard the song (in my cousin's car through her newly purchased Britney's CD), I was stunned by it. It was soooo good! In fact, I think it's the most well-produced track among all Britney's singles in terms of music, lyrics and appeal. It's sexy, flirty, and hot. Absolutely the best track in her Blackout album (Britney's fifth studio album and where the track came from).



1 ~ Born to Make You Happy

As an avid pop song lover, I unquestionably crazy over this pure bubblegum pop song. It's my personal favourite single from Britney Spears and that's why its on top of this list. It got a bit of sad tone in it which makes me fall in love with the song even more. Did you know that the track was originally written to sound sexual? Hard to believe isn't it since the released track sound so innocent.



And there you have it, the top 5 of my favourite Britney's singles. Britney Spears latest compilation album, The Singles Collection, had already been released in certain region so if you like her songs, please don't forget to buy it.


All images courtesy of Wikipedia.

CeleBRITion! My top 5 Best Britney's videos

Yes, I'm a huge Britney Spears fan. Well, nothing obsessive, I just love her music and style. So hopefully you guys wouldn't mind me counting down my top 5 Best Britney's videos to celebrate the release of her new greatest hits album, The Singles Collection, on November 24, 2009. At first I want to do my top 5 favourite Britney's music videos but that proves to be too hard for me to decide (because I like almost all of her videos!). Hence I come out with this one, the top 5 Britney's videos that I think the best that she had come out with so far.


5 ~ I'm A Slave 4 U

Okay, this video is hot. I was surprised to see the change of attitude and art direction when I first saw it but it's still a great music video nevertheless. The theme, about the drought-affected city-dwellers, is very interesting. Combine that with sexy dance moves, and you have an awesome video. And I also like the lighting effects that make everything appears...hot! (I mean literally).

4 ~ Toxic

Definitely one of the hottest and sexiest Britney's video. Taken from her In The Zone album, this addictive song had even won a Grammy Award for Best Dance Recording in 2005. The airplane scene is very funny and I think Britney looks hot when she dyed her hair black in the video. Although the diamond scene is way too sexy for minor, but I think her face looks prettiest during that scene.

3 ~ Lucky

I know not all would agree with me on this one. The song would sound too pop for most people but I just love pop songs, that's why I love Lucky. I really like the story and settings for this video. Plus, I put it so high up in the chart because I like the theme of loneliness that it brings. It kind of makes me feel sad. :'(



2 ~ Me Against the Music

The combination was flawless. I mean it's Britney Spears & Madonna, should I say more? Love the settings, love the dance moves, love the outfits, love the chase scenes (although it's a bit controversial in the end). I think Britney's appearance for this music video is her best look yet. Did I mention that I really like her outfit?

1 ~ Womanizer

So this is it! The number 1 spot for Best Britney's music video! I think this video is very, very classy and stylish. It's totally in a different league compared to the rest of her videos. Plus it featured the best looking male model (his name is Brandon Stoughton by the way) among ALL her music videos so far. The story is funny and together with the addictive beat, we have one amazing and unforgetable music video. Britney (and of course Brandon and the rest of the dancers) rock!!!


So there you have it, the best of the best of Britney's music videos (according to my standard of course, LOL). Don't forget to buy her greatest hits album when it come out. Peace!

This Is The One that I'm waiting for!!!

Utada Hikaru's 3rd English studio album, This Is The One had been released! Oh my god, how did I miss this? I remember checking the music store last week and I saw no new album from Utada. Weird. Well, according to Wikipedia, the album has been released in Japan on 14 March 2009 and in the US digitally on 24 March 2009. The physical CD would only come out in the US on 12 May 2009. It also stated the release dates for several other Asian countries like Korea, Hong Kong and Thailand though I'm not sure whether it was for digital release of physical CD release.

I'm happy that this album had somewhat some promotions in my country; the music video for the lead single, Come Back to Me, had been screened on TV. The song had also been played on local radio station (although I only heard it from 1 radio station). I wish there would be more promotion so that people will become aware of this new album. Utada Hikaru had been huge before in Malaysia when her 1st Japanese album hit stores, so I hope history will repeat itself.

Ganbatte Utada!

Circus is in town!

Today is a big day for Britney's fans. It's the release of her new album, Circus. Hooraayyy!!!
So fans, don't forget to buy her album. Now, tomorrow, next week, next month, soon...I don't care when but if you are a TRUE fan, you should buy it. I know I would.

For more Britney news, head on to her official website or simply click here.

Oh, I almost forgot. Happy birthday Britney!!!

Britney is back!!!

OMG!!!!! Britney is back guys!!! I'm so relieved to see she's all good and sexy. I can't wait for her new album, Circus, to come out this 2nd December 2008. I'm not sure whether Malaysia and other countries in Asia will have the same release date as the US but as long as it will arrive here, I don't really care!

You can watch the sexy Brit in her new video, Womanizer, at her official site. She's nude, so I hope those below the legal age, please ignore this link. Otherwise, click here or the link below to go to her official website at Jive Records. Of course you can also watch it here. Just scroll down and you will find it at the end of this post.

Britney Spears- Jive Records



But, if you want to watch the vid AND get to know the hunky male model in the vid (his name is Brandon Stoughton btw), you can click here or the link below to go to the site that have the details. Again, this site is STRICTLY for those above the legal age (18+ or 21+ depends on the country), and also for those who are gay-tolerent. Don't say I didn't warn u.

OhlalaMag

This song is sooooo suitable for Brit's no-good ex-husband. I dedicate this song to him.

Break the ice, Britney!

Okay, here's a quick post. No pics, no video, nothing. Just thoughts.

Being a huge fan of Britney Spears, I can't help but noticed all the buzz surrounding Britney. I just skipped the negative ones and head-on straight to the good news.

Britney is currently working on her next album!!! Yay!!! I'm so excited to see what kind of music will she bring, I heard she's been experimenting a lot for this new album. Can't wait! And there are also fans who's been urging her to release Toy Soldier as her new single. Some fans want Radar as the next single. Well, pretty good idea. She do need a new single since "To Be Continued" popped up in the end of her Break The Ice video. Oh, speaking of which, I LOVE Break The Ice! It's her best single ever!!! (beside Born To Make You Happy of course which is my personal favourite).

For those who couldn't get enough of her, check out these sites...Britney and BritneyFans. Tons and tons of news, photos, videos, comments and ideas. Just click on it to go there.