I debated!

It was my first time joining and competing in a debate competition. I’ve never join any competition that involve talking in front of people since I was form 1 due to my bad experience back when I was in standard six. Since that particular incident, I could not talk in front of a crowd or if I could, I means that I am fully prepared for it. I would love to join debate since the first time I saw it which is in form 1 (a bit late I know). The debaters looked handsome in their suits but what makes them super handsome is the way they talk-how they defended and persuaded people to join and support their stands. However, my dream to be a debater is buried till recently as I am not fluent in English as well as I dislike reading almost everything.

When I heard that we are going to have an interclass debate, I was freaking out. Like what am I going to say? The crowd will only focus and listen to me for the whole 5 minutes. 5 minutes! Their eyes will be on me. What should I counter back when I’m under attack? I was also freaking out because I am competing against students whom I believe are great in English. However, with the help from my friends and teammates, I’m gaining my confidence bit by bit However, with the help from my friends and teammates, I’m gaining my confidence bit by bit.

The first day of the debate was great. I enjoyed being the crowd especially the one for which they debated about killing Justin Bieber. It was hilarious! Like how could they stop his singing career just because he drinks a lot of water? Trees are cut down because of he uses a lot of music sheets? The second one that I like was the debate on banning ice creams for the elderly. It is such an absurd topic to be debating about but after hearing the debate, banning ice creams for the elderly may happen in the future.

From this interclass debate, I learn the rules about debate and the roles for each speaker other than the difference between THBT (This House Believes That) and THW (This House Would) which before this I thought they were the same. Getting the chance to be the first and the third speaker in this interclass debate competition, I would personally like being the third speaker instead of the first because I can whip all of the oppositions’ point. However, I did badly as the third speaker because I did not whip all of their points due to my poor speaking skills in English and daydreaming during the debate. Some of the debaters tried their best to win for their teams but a small number of them whom I believe are great in debating did very poorly which upsets me a bit.  You have the talents, skills and experiences, why would you even do that?

After joining this debate, I now know that persuading people to believe in what they do not believe is hard. Being a debater needs a lot of knowledge and confidence as well as the fluency in talking. I also need to think as quick as a lightning as I heard the points given by the opposition teams. Debating also taught me to become a great listener. Even if you are a great speaker, you are nothing in debate when you are not a good listener. This experience is absolutely a great one but for now I will stay among the crowd.

Nerve

Movie Review

Nerve stars Dave Franco (Ian) and the Emma Robert (Vee).

When Vee is pressured by her friends because of her introvert character and low self-esteem, she decides to join the Nerve, an illegal but popular online game that challenges the players to accept a series of dares. Players of the titular game watched by a crowd of online audience will win cash by completing the reckless dares delivered to their smartphones. Completing one stage after another, it does not take a long time for Vee to face dares that require her to do some dangerous stunts such riding a bike with Ian while he is blind folded, crossing 10-storey building from one window to another and the best has yet to come which is shooting Ian. As the stake is getting higher, Nerve begins to take a sinister turn that might change Vee’s life into danger.

If you think Pokemon Go fanatics are crazy and risking their life just for a game, wait until you see Nerve(either the player or the watcher). Yes they do win a great amount of cash by doing some reckless dares but if they make a wrong move, they might become prisoners of the game. In other words, their identities, information and money will be steal by the anonymous game master. Ridiculous yet a very fun game to join I believe. Other than winning cash, your popularity will insanely rise among the online users due to spending a night playing Nerve.

There are lots of questions in my mind right now like who is the master mind or the game master behind this game? Then, what is their motive of creating this game? Well for now I personally believe that Nerve was created by a group of teenagers that seek pleasures by doing dangerous activities.

If Nerve is real, I would definitely join it and be a player. I have nothing to lose because if I fail the missions my account money will be back to normal. Instead, I will gain online popularity. Furthermore, joining this game will give me a good reason to do ridiculous things.

For the past two months, I have taken more interest about dark web when my classmates and I discussed whether dark web should be accesses by public or not. Since the movie has brought up about dark web, let us talk about it. Dark web is either a great technology advancement to the government or the otherwise. Police has the advantage to catch gun smugglers or drug dealers by faking a business with them but I believe the dark web has been ruled by smugglers, dealers and gangsters instead of the government. The main thing right now is I would love to know how people get the access to surf the dark web and who are the users?!

Before I end my review, I am still wondering how Vee’s brother died. I mean what is the significance of his death? Please tell me if you have the answer so I can find the relevance of his death in this movie.

Kingsman: The Secret Service (2014)

Movie Review

Gary “Eggsy” Unwin (Taron Egerton) is approached by a secret agent, Harry Hart (Colin Firth) to be recruited as one of the trainee to fill a spot as an agent in his secret service organization. He approached Eggsy as Eggsy’s late father was one of his colleagues and his best friend who was killed in a mission. During the training, Harry sees the potential in Eggsy to be a great secret agent as his late father was. Meanwhile, a villain Richmond Valentine (Samuel L. Jackson). 

This movie is rated due to its strong violence, language and sexual content. As it is rated because of strong violence content, I did expect a lot of killing and bombing scenes but I did not expect them to be really violent like the massive killing in the church and the girl with bladed legs slicing people into parts. For a 16 year-old-girl (it was 2014 when I watched this), the strong violence content for me is a little bit too much. But then I was disappointed with the scene where the massive head bombing. I was expecting heads parts like skull pieces and human brains scattering on the floor covered with blood but I was disappointed by the colourful CGI fireworks. Until now I dislike the idea of fireworks but most of my friends watching this movie find it the most interesting and creative scene of all. The fireworks head explosion is probably the scene that I dislike the most.

On the other hand, my most favourite scene is the skydiving mission. If I were Eggsy, I would probably die crashing the Earth as I would be really panicked when I were informed that one of the skydivers do not have a parachute. I would not think to get all of the skydivers together in a circle and open the parachute one by one. Like the best I could think of is grabbing only one of the skydiver and land together.

I also wonder what is the connection between the blade woman with Valentine. I know she is his assistant but it would be better if I know what makes her loyal to him. It will also be great if the production team could insert a scene or two on how and what makes her has that bladed legs.

That is all from me. Bye!

Miracle in Cell No. 7 (2013)

Movie Review

In this post, I’m going to review a very heartfelt Korean movie. This movie became popular due to the emotional approach in it. This film tells about a close relationship between a mentally ill father and his adorable 8 years old daughter, Ye Seung. Although mentally ill, the love of the father towards his daughter is undeniable. As for the daughter, she is a smart and understanding child who loves his father as much as he did love her. Their lives begin to crash when the father is accused of murdering and raping an 8 years old girl. Ye Seung gets in and out of the prison with his father’s cellmates to literally live with his father in the prison. Although he is innocent, he admits of doing the crime as the victim’s father threats him to do the same things-rape and murder-to his daughter if he does not admit that he is wrong.

In this movie, the prison is where the comedy takes place. It shows the positive side of the prison and it change my perspective that not all criminals are bad. Let us take the first example, the father’s prison inmates help him by smuggling his daughter into the prison. I know that crime is still a crime but their intentions are good-to reunite his daughter with him. In the cell itself, I could see different personalities of the cellmates. One is an old pervert who knows how to read, one who fully loves his wife and baby and a lot more. And one more thing, I’m surprised to see that the cell looks like a small house cramped with six criminals. What I meant by a house is that the offenders are allowed to patch posters on the wall, they have blankets and pillows to sleep, they can read magazines and even play board games.

The most emotional part is when Ye Seung’s dad admits doing the accused crime just because of a threat of hurting his daughter. I was really angry with his act because he has been practicing with his cellmates and even the prison officer to reject the false claim. They have been acting as if they were in the court and his friends even made him memorize the script of the real situation that happened on the unfortunate day-the day where he got caught of ‘raping and murdering’ the little girl. At the same time, my anger mixed with sadness as he is willing to sacrifice his life just to see his daughter is safe. Eventhough he is mentally ill, he is yet sentenced to death like a normal paedophile offenders who is free from mental illness.

This is definitely one of the best Korean movie that I’ve ever watched, filled with laughter and tears and a great story about prison life.

Ratatouille (2007)

Movie Review

A rat named Remy dreams of being a great French chef in Paris despite his family especially his father oppose against it. But the main problem is that he is a rat. A rat being a French chef? That is like waiting for a unicorn to exist. Despite his father against it and him being a rat, Remy is ready to pursue his dream of being a French chef. When Remy gets washed away from his family, he ends up in Paris and goes to a fine French restaurant owned by his hero, Auguste Gustea. Outside the restaurant, he meets a garbage boy named Linguini. Linguini ends up getting a job as a chef after a bunch of other chefs think his soup is delicious. Eventually, the soup was made by Linguini by the guidance of Remy. Knowing that he needs to keep his job at the restaurant, Remy and Linguini work together to create great dishes.

As cooking is one of my passion, I really enjoyed this movie seeing how a rat can create and cook dishes like humans’. But of course there is no such rat in the world. Seeing this movie makes me changing my dream from being a doctor to a chef. A complete different field. The satisfaction of seeing people enjoying your dish is priceless.

Remy will imagine Gustea when he needs any advice. What makes it good for the viewers is that Gustea keeps on repeating several times that stealing is wrong and when Remy allows his rat friends to steal from the restaurant, his choice gets harsh consequences. This story does not even send messages to the children but the parents as well. Remy’s dad does not support his son’s dream of being a chef which he believes that nature cannot be change-a rat cannot be a chef for humans. But later, Remy’s dad admits that what he did was wrong when he sees his son’s achievement and the respects that he get. He then decides to help his son because they are eventually a family. This scene sends a message to the parents that eventhough your children’s dreams seem hard to accomplish, parents should give a full support to them.

The story does not have the emotional depth like Finding Nemo or Toy Story 3, but the animation of the chefs chopping, dicing and getting busy in the kitchen depict the same things that happen in our real life kitchen. Not to forget, one of my favourite scenes is where the movie shows the juxtaposition of the situation in the hectic kitchen and the calm and posh dining area.

I would rate this movie 9 out of 10.

Cabin in the Woods (2012)

Movie Review

Five college friends (Kristen Connolly, Anna Hutchison, Chris Hemsworth, Jesse Williams and Fran Kranz) go for a short break at a remote area in the woods. Together in the cabin, they were disturbed by supernatural spirits that hunt and kill. Being hunt, they now need to find a way to get themselves out of that hunting area but it was not a normal forest as they thought it was.

First of all, if this see this spooky cabin situated out of nowhere in the woods, I would never even go near it. Based on what that I got from this film, it tells us that ever since human existed, we have been sacrificing humans to the ‘ancient gods’. I am really amaze with the idea of different way of dying. The options available are from vampires to werewolves to a ballerina with a face full of teeth-like razor and a lot more. I personally would choose the least scary one if I really have to die.

The Ballerina   

I was a bit angry knowing that the people in the organization take other people’s death as a joke by betting who is going to be kill by what. I was really satisfied when all of them were killed by the spirits. Serve them right!

The ending for this movie is a bit mind blowing because it were them who decided the world to be destroyed. I was in a maze for a moment. Furthermore, they seem really relax as if being dead or alive means nothing anymore. If I were in their place, I would probably sacrifice my friend and kill him for the sake of all humanity. Okay. Probably for the sake of myself. I know it is a bit selfish but I do not do much good things on Earth yet. Pretty sure that the heaven’s door is not yet open for me. However, the ending for this movie is probably one of my favourite.

This is probably one of the best thriller horror movie that I’ve watched so far. 8 out of 10. I highly recommend you guys to watch this movie.

 

 

The Tourist (2010)

Movie Review

Recently I’ve just watched a French movie, Andy Zimmer in which The Tourist has adapted. The story line is pretty much the same but I personally like The Tourist much better because there’s more action and funnier.

This is a romantic comedy movie with a crime thriller in it. To mend a broken heart, an American math teacher, Frank Tupelo takes a trip to Europe. He finds himself in a dangerous situation when a stranger, Elise (Angelina Jolie) joins him in his trip. He is now being chased by a group of mafia and the cops from Scotland Yard because Frank is believed to be the Alexander who has stolen millions from the gangster and owe the Scotland Yard millions for property destroying.

This movie stars two most recognisable faces in the world-Angeline Jolie and Johny Depp. It is too good to be true but the end product is as I expected from both of them. In this movie, I could sense Elise is the mixture of Jolie’s character from wanted with a character of Mrs. Smith. She goes well with Depp and together they make interesting viewing. I also love that this movie includes a slight of humour which comes from Frank.

I did not expect Frank Tupelo to be the real Alexander. I thought he admit being Alexander to save Elise from being killed by the mafia. As I watch the movie, there is not even a second that I am confident he is the real Alexander. I once thought that Frank Tupelo may be Alexander but who would have dare to change his entire face and even voice? Well he does. If I were him, I would not dare to change my even a small part of my face because surviving the aftermath for plastic surgery is not easy. I also once thought that how good Alexander is in hiding because the fact that he could not be found by the cops is absurd. Even Elise, his girlfriend could not find him. But then I was convinced that his skills in hiding is really good because I was deceived by Frank throughout the movie.

The Tourist is very entertaining and thoroughly enjoyable from the very start.

The Help (2011)

Movie Review

The Help is a 2009 novel by American Author Kathryn Stockett. The story is about African-American maids working in white households in Jackson, Mississippi, during the early 1960s. The story tells about Skeeter who has just graduated from college. She finds herself does not fit easily at her hometown. Other than Skeeter, the movie is occupied by two other strong characters: Aibileen Clark and Minny Jackson. Both of them are maids who served the white households. Aibileen has been raising white little girls since she started become a maid while Minny is a maid who is fired by Hilly Holbrook, then hired by a white blonde who has been out casted as she is married to Hilly’s ex-boyfriend whom is also a well-off businessman.

My unforgettable scene of all is when Minny brought over a pie to Hilly’s house as a revenge-I believe. It is not a pie that you could get from any bakery or restaurant because it contains her shit. (Yikes!) At first I thought she was joking when she said, ‘Eat my shit!’ but I guess she was serious about it-she was fired just because she used the toilet in Hilly’s house (she was supposed to use the toilet built outside the house but it was raining heavily that day). I personally think that the reason she made Hilly ate that pie because she wanted to proof to Hilly that the blacks do not have contagious diseases as Hilly has been spreading the rumours in her neighbourhood.

Well if we think more about this toilet discrimination, the whites built a toilet just for their maids to avoid them from getting diseases that the blacks might have carry. However, there’s a scene in the movie where Aibileen’s employer straight away gave her baby to Aibileen right after she got out of the toilet. Talking about hygiene. I believe that the main reason the whites provide toilets for their maids because they feel that the blacks are equal to them when they share toilets which in other word, they are on the same level as the blacks compared to the past where blacks were slave for their ancestors.

Furthermore, Skeeter’s bravery to write about the helps inspires me to keep on doing what you believe is best for all. If I was living in Jackson, Mississippi in 1960’s, I would not have the guts to write about black maids which is considered to be a very sensitive subject at that time. Eventhough she knew that she could have been jailed for writing a book about the helps, she just go on with it because she believe that the community need to change their negative attitudes and perspectives towards the innocent blacks. Not to forget the bravery of the helps to tell out their stories to Skeeter even though they knew that they will be taken legal action if they were caught.

The Help is probably the best movie I’ve watched that discussed about the blacks and whites. It shows how bad the blacks were discriminate by the whites back then and how the perspectives’ of a community towards blacks has changed through a brave act from a writer and a black help.

Edge of Tomorrow (2014)

MOVIE REVIEW

Edge of Tomorrow is an adventure sci-fi movie which stars Tom Cruise as Cage and Emily Blunt as Rita.  It is based on Hiroshi Sikurazaka’s novel “All You Need is Kill”. An alien race has attacked and trying to invade the Earth, beating lots of military units around the world. Major William Cage is assigned to join the war (eventhough he has never seen a day of combat) due to the limitation of soldiers to fight against the alien attack. Unfortunately, minutes after stepping of the war field, he died. However, Cage finds himself facing the same combat or day over and over again after he has been killed tonnes of times. But with each battle, his fighting skills get stronger alongside Special Forces warrior, Rita Vrataski. As they work together in each battle, they are getting closer to defeating the aliens called Mimics which are controlled by

I haven’t read the synopsis before I watch this movie so, I was a bit confused when he ‘miracally’ woke up from death. At first I thought he had a dream, like a psychic who could predict what will happen in the future but he actually went through the war and died but miraculously woke up alive a day before he went to battlefield. He was able to time travel because of the alien’s blood that spilt on his body when he was killed by it. Eventually, the alien was one of a kind alien species where its blood can make humans to experience the same day over and over again which when he or she died. Imagine what human could do when we get this blood! If I was Cage, I probably would not have the courage to kill myself tonnes of times so that I can have a perfect plan to defeat the enemies. Getting your head chopped off by flying machines, ran over by a car, being bombed and shooted and getting killed by aliens for hundreds of times-No, thank you! However, one point to the idea of the alien blood thingy.

I personally hate alien invasion movies but this movie isn’t bad at all. Probably because the alien do not have slimy figures or three eyes with one head. I would probably be more terrified aliens who have razored tentacles and roll across the battlefield like tumbleweeds. I would rate this movie 7 out of 10. This movie is worth watching because it is different from most of the sci-fi movie out there and the aliens are not as disgusting as we know from our childhood.

Shawshank Redemption (1994)

Movie Review

Okay. So today I’ll review about one of the greatest stories of all time, Shawshank Redemption. This 1994 movie stars Morgan Freeman (Yeah, I know right. He is one of the big reason why this movie hit it big) as Red and Tim Robbins as Andy Dufresne. Andy is sentenced to two consecutive life terms in prison for the accusation of killing his wife and her lover. Unfortunately, eventhough he insists that he did not commit the crime and was framed, he is still sentenced to spend double of his age in a tough prison. For 2 years I believe, he was regularly assaulted and molested by a group of gay called ‘the Sisters’, doing heavy chores and treated badly by the wardens and prisoners there. However, among that bad experience there, he has built great memories with Red.

Who is Tommy Williams?

Tommy Williams was incarcerated with burglary in 1965. Andy helped him pass the GED exam which Tommy himself took so that he can be a great role model for his kids. A year after their friendship, Tommy revealed to Andy that an inmate from another prison claimed the responsibility for which the murder that Andy was convicted. Without Tommy in this movie, I would still believe that Andy Dufresne is a psycho who had murdered his wife and her lover out of anger and jealousy. Due to the information given by Tommy to Andy and Andy’s attempt to open his case back, Tommy has been killed under the guise of an escape attempt.

Now here comes the saddest part of all. The old man who spent most of his life in a prison library, Brooks. He was finally released form the prison. For most of the prisoners I believe, they would be on the cloud nine to get out of the prison but not Brooks. He has been spending too much time in the prison that he was really afraid to face the challenges beyond the prison walls. Facing the challenges alone at his old age, he finally hung himself which I think that it may be the best act for him.

Other than that, a scene where I really need to review is the scene where Andy Dufresne successfully escaped from the prison. The way that he escaped from the prison is brilliant but it is a bit of fresh air-lacking. But still, he made it. Words cannot describe my happiness towards Andy at that time. It is like I’m the one who got out of that filthy prison. I believe that he had done the right thing-escape from the prison-because he truly is not guilty and who would not want to escape when you have a brilliant plan, tools, a false accusation and an unhelpful warden.

I do agree that Shawshank Redemption is one of the greatest movie of all time and this movie should be in your movie list before you die.