Monday, May 16, 2016

Movie Marathon: Daniel Brühl

I had to open Ms Word and copy-paste the "ü" for the title -- and possibly for the rest of the post. So, every time I type the name, it goes like this: Daniel Br(ctrl+v)hl. I know there's an easier way to do this, but I'm so lazy to find out. Even so, I'm telling ya, it's worth the trouble. Most people would simply type "Bruhl" but I just can't ignore the spelling, can I? It's just like when I type "Dragić", but I just realized in my previous posts, I didn't bother to copy-paste the "ć" lol. I don't want people to spell my name wrong, so I try to spell people's names right~

Alright, enough about the diacritics. Let's just talk about this multilingual movie marathon I just did.



Daniel César Martín Brühl González Domingo (wow, such a long name. Get out of here, Benedict Cumberbatch!), known simply as Daniel Brühl, is a half-German, half-Spanish actor. The name never rings a bell? Well, unless you're a movie buff, you probably won't know this guy until you watch one of these movies: Good Bye Lenin! (because this was his breakout role), Inglourious Basterds (because this was his second breakout role), Rush (because he was nominated for some prestigious awards and this is his best performance yet), and Captain America: Civil War (because it's a freaking Marvel movie). But, I first knew him from The Bourne Ultimatum, playing the brother of Bourne's late girlfriend. It was such a minor role that I couldn't care less about him, mostly because Matt Damon was too big of a star. That time, he was already a big German actor, having been into acting since the 90's. He's not only starring in German movies, but also Spanish ones.

What I like about Mr. Brühl is that he can speak multiple languages. I don't know how many exactly, but seeing from the movies, I take it he speaks four: English, German, Spanish, and French (maybe more? I've read that he can speak Catalan and Portuguese too). He's probably not the only actor, or person, who can speak many languages, but it's a plus point, don't you think? First, he's talented as heck. I'm amazed with his acting, especially in Rush. He has played many different characters and they are all equally good. His father, Hanno Brühl was a director, so it really helped his acting experience. He was also in a band during his younger years and has a really good singing voice. Even though he's ashamed every time someone talked about it (mostly in interviews), I hope he will sing again in a movie or anywhere else.
Second, he's a multilingual. He can star in any movies, with any languages. That's what you get from speaking many languages, you can do movies basically everywhere. And third, he is good looking, of course. He might not be muscular or have a distinctive hair, but damn he's handsome. He can also be cute and adorable at one point, and be ravishingly sexy with that deep stare at another -- it just depends on how he dresses and behaves haha. Plus, his accent(s) is just.... *swoons* *then dead*

So, what makes you decided to do Daniel Brühl movie marathon?
*got back up again* I've actually been meaning to do this since I watched Rush, but instead I did other marathons. When the news about him being cast in Civil War broke, I was like "Damn, I love that guy! And he just joined Marvel holy shit!" I just couldn't help it and started to look for his movies. Most of my friends didn't really know who he was back then, so I thought this would be the best way to introduce him. But... it got delayed again. Then, just a few days before Civil War premiered here in Indonesia, I happened to watch Burnt. After I watched Civil War, it just encouraged me more because, despite of what people said about his character, Zemo, in the movie, I still love him and his acting. That was it, the start(s) of the marathon I've been dying to do hahaha.

Saturday, May 7, 2016

Thoughts on Captain America: Civil War

Yes, I just got back from my 2nd viewing of Civil War. I have already spilled my thoughts in a so-called review here, but it was only my first time watching, and that time I was too busy fangirling and having so much fun that I didn't give the movie an objective view. So, this time I'm going to share my deeper thoughts about the movie. There will be some mild spoilers, but I will try not to give away too much in order to honor those who haven't seen it or those who simply hate spoilers (like I do haha).

Please allow me to inform you that I haven't read any Marvel comic books. I only watch the movies -- which I really love -- and as a huge fan, I know that's not enough. But as of this time, I don't really have a plan to read them (I still have so many unread novels on my bookshelf). So, this opinion is purely from an MCU audience's perspective. This will be a long post, so bear with me.

Before we get started... Does anyone want to get out?

(Please tell me you get the reference above so I don't get to have all the fun by myself)

(screenrant.com)

Thursday, May 5, 2016

Monday Madness

Just like a typical high school student who keeps referring to Monday as "Monster Day", I'm gonna use the term to describe what my Mondays have been this semester. I actually hate the words because it is overused, but it's suitable. High school students' Monday has got nothing on mine.

Monday is when I sleep at 3 and wake up at 4.30, sleep again at 4.35, and wake up again at 7.30. That's just the normal timeline. The abnormal one is when the assignments attack, then it means no sleep at all. Is it really that surprising? No, not at all. But I've been doing this for almost four years and sometimes I'm just tired of it.

This is what I look like every Monday:

Drawing by me. I'm not this 'slim' in real life, in case you're wondering.


You must've seen The Walking Dead, right? Well, I haven't and I probably won't watch it because zombies are not my thing. But without even watching it, I know what happens in that series because every freaking Monday morning I look at my reflection in the mirror and there you go, a Walking Dead episode!

Do you guys feel the same too? Or am I the only one who is too lazy to freshen up before going to the campus? But, dude, if I go through some unnecessary make-up routines, I'll still look like I don't use anything after the studio. Battered, beaten up by the assignments, panda eyes strike again, begging to be closed for at least one hour.

Well, the life in the studio is actually not as scary as you think. We are free to do anything. I mean, did you read what I wrote on the drawing above? I can watch movies. I can even watch basketball games and cheer (silently, of course, I have manners lol) without having to be worried that my teacher is gonna kick me out of the class, except the times when he/she comes to the class and just walks around checking our assignment progress. Other than that, we can sleep through the day or even go home. But I can't just sleep in the class and go home (again, I have manners), so instead I watch something from my laptop or just chatting with friends.

Sounds a lot of fun, huh? Where's the 'monster' in that? This is it, the climax. In the end of the studio, we have to collect the assignment progress that we're supposed to do during the studio. That's the madness. That's what makes me look like an even uglier zombie than the ones in The Walking Dead. Not to mention the deadlines, which of course always happens on Monday. We're looking at that day as the Judgement Day. My God, the beats your heart makes when the teacher announces if you pass the standard or not...

Monday is when both miracles and bad lucks happen. I said miracles because good things sometimes happen unexpectedly, when mostly it's just bad lucks. There's not many Mondays left in this semester. I actually want to say a nice thing about Monday after that previous sentence, but since the deadline is two Mondays away, I'll just keep that to myself until Monday is finally being nice to me too.

I have no idea what useful things you, or even myself, can get from this randomly written post. Maybe I just need a rest from Daniel Brühl marathon I'm currently doing, mostly because my heart just can't take his adorableness for now -- it reaches the limit lol. I'm gonna continue to fangirl over him after I write this. And look forward for the movie marathon post I obviously going to make!

Tschüs!

Tuesday, March 8, 2016

Who Run the World? Girls!

I've been saving this post for a quite long time, but because today is the International Women's Day, I finished this one off for you to ignore read. So, am I gonna talk about Beyonce's song? Nope, I just borrowed the title from my twin-by-13-years. This post is going to be about my favorite female TV characters. No, you didn't read it wrong. I do want to talk about my favorite TV heroines. HEROINES. Women. Not men, women
Okay, I'm still a fangirl, but this time I will show you that I can fangirl over actresses too! Since I watch too much TV, it's hard not to have favorite characters. Men aside, I will honor my favorite female characters aka my TV heroines in no particular order:

1. Veronica Mars (Veronica Mars)


Oh my. I freaking love this girl. I can't talk about my favorite TV shows without mentioning her at least once. The sassy teenage detective who is actually smarter than any of the police in the show. She's brave and easygoing, despite suffering the rough times after her best friend Lilly was murdered. Once being in the circle of exclusive group in Neptune High, she had a 180-degree life change. She was drugged and raped at a party hosted by one of the members. The event turned her to be cynical, filled with anger and disgust toward the wealthy life of Neptune. Not just that, people looked at her as if she was a pariah because she stood with her father, the then-Sheriff Keith Mars, who wrongly accused Lilly's father of the murder. It wasn't any better as her mother abandoned them. Soon after, Keith became a private investigator and have his own agency, Mars Investigations, where Veronica worked at between school time. Apart from it, she also accepts investigating jobs from her friends and other people, and can easily solve the cases with helps from her best friends Wallace and Mac.
Kristen Bell became one of my favorite actresses because of this series. God, please bring back Veronica Mars (again)!

2. Spencer Hastings (Pretty Little Liars)
  

Before you say anything, let me say it first: I know Pretty Little Liars has been going downhill since... a very long time ago, but that doesn't make me stop watching it. I was one of those people who felt betrayed after that awful season 6 mid-season finale. But, hey, I don't want to be reminded by that episode again, ever, so let's just proceed to the brain of the squad: Spencer Hastings. I like her a lot, not just because she's like the Veronica Mars of PLL, but she also stands up for herself. I won't talk about her bad habits (stealing her sister's essay, boyfriend... ugh, drama). She's the brightest, bravest, richest Liar. She was the only one who could disagree with what Alison, their queen bee, said. She only cries if the situation is unbearable to her, otherwise she's strong as rock. There's one time when she broke down and started to get addicted to drugs. It really broke my heart to see how stressful she was. Troian Bellisario is just that good to portray Spencer, in any kind of emotions.

3. Emily Thorne (Revenge)


How many reasons to like Emily? Infinity times infinity! She's beautiful, mysterious, smart, the type pf girl you just can't mess with. She can take you down, I mean take you down, once she set her aim at you. She always look calm and rather cold, with that smile you don't know the meaning of. Her main purpose of the series was to, of course, get revenge, especially to those who have wronged her and her father. Even so, she has flaws--mainly her vulnerabilities and unstable emotions, which often gets in her own ways to get vengeance. But, let's don't forget how confident, independent, and well-organized she is. She has prepared everything to get her revenge done, including training herself to become quite a fighter. That's probably why I also like Emily VanCamp. Gorgeous girl!

4. Joan Watson (Elementary)


When it was first announced that the new Sherlock Holmes adaptation would have female Watson, the world was going crazy. They were judging even before the series aired. But, once it did, look what happened. Everyone loves Joan Watson! Lucy Liu even got several awards for her portrayal of Watson. Starting as Sherlock's sober companion, Joan learned to be a detective as the series progressed. Well, if you have Sherlock Holmes as your mentor, nothing would go wrong, right? Yeah, not really. She's always frustrated because of Sherlock's behavior. But because of that, she tries to not depending on him and often solves cases of her own. Sometimes her snarky comments make people shut their mouths off. She's also the one who can stand Sherlock and eventually the one who can 'tame' him, making them one of my favorite dynamic duos of all time. I love this Watson as much as other Watsons, and I will always defend her from those ignorant haters!

5. Detective Sarah Linden (The Killing)


What I like most about Detective Linden is how determined she is. She's too faithful to her job that it cost her the relationships she has built to several people. Pain and deaths seem to affect her, explaining her determination to catch the killers in each case. She is paired with Detective Holden, whom she didn't trust at first, but soon to be the only one who could actually understand the troubles she went through. She always acts cold towards anyone, sometimes scornful. But I gotta say, I love how badass she could be with that poker face. Mireille Enos really did a good job at it.

6. Thea Queen/Speedy (Arrow)


Spoiled brat! That's what I thought about Thea when Arrow first started. She was the typical spoiled rich kid who wasted her money on drugs and party. But, she did it for a reason: she was devastated by the loss of her father and brother, Oliver. After Oliver got back, she started to get away from that life. I can say that she's one of few characters on Arrow who actually shows some character development. After a major turning point in the show, she changed. Under Malcolm Merlyn's training, she learned to fight and became a warrior like her brother did. Eventually, she joined Team Arrow under the name Speedy. She was no longer the crybaby, she's strong and can take care of herself. I felt bad on how people treated her at first (lying to her, even drugged her and made her kill someone), while she herself had already gone through worse things. I sure miss Thea/Willa Holland's long and curly hair from early seasons, but I love her new look even more. She's clearly not more boring than Felicity and Laurel. Sorry for those who like them, I'm team Speedy!

7. Liv Moore (iZombie)


I know I've said I don't like anything with zombies in it, but this show is an exception. Coming from the same genius man who brought Veronica Mars to live, iZombie is not your average zombie show. Forget The Walking Dead, this is actually a detective show. Well, how many show with crime-solving zombie as the main character? That's why I like iZombie (apart from it was also created by Rob Thomas). Olivia 'Liv' Moore was an ordinary medical student until she came to a party and ended up waking as a zombie. To hide her identity, she works at medical examiner's office, where she can also eat brains without actually killing anyone. However, it has impacts on her, as she can absorbs the memories and traits of the dead people whose brains she's eaten. With the visions and such, she comes to work with Detective Babineaux, who thinks she has psychic powers. Of course, the job has its own twists and turns. I always laugh seeing Liv changes characteristics every episodes, and Rose McIver is just so lovely. Aside from that, Liv also tries to find the cure for her zombie-ness, with the help of her co-worker Ravi, while trying to 'live more'. Get it?

8. Jessica Jones (Jessica Jones)



As I've explained before, Jessica Jones is a former superheroine who becomes a private investigator after being under the influence of a mind-controlling freak named Kilgrave. As a result of the experience, she suffered from PTSD that turns her into a sarcastic, cynical, and sharp-tongued woman, with fears still fill her whole body. When she finds out that Kilgrave is back, she almost breaks down again and tries to run away, but then she realizes that if she does this, she will never win and will always feel insecure. She decides to confront the fears, be tough, and brave because she, however, was once helping people with her ability of super strength and flying.
A little trivia: Krysten Ritter was starring as Gia Goodman in Veronica Mars season 2 and the movie. Both Jessica and Veronica are private investigators. Ah, I love PIs and detectives!

Honorable mention: Ran Mouri (Meitantei Conan/Detective Conan/Case Closed)


Who doesn't know this girl? Yes, the girl who waits so long for her boyfriend best friend to come home when actually he's been by her side all along. By appearance, Ran Mouri or Mouri Ran is a sweet and caring 17 years-old girl. Because of that, not many people know that she's in fact a national karate champion and physically strong. Not many people also know that behind that strength, she has a vulnerable heart and often cries for smallest reason, mostly because of Shinichi Kudo (who shrunk and became Conan Edogawa), that boyfriend best friend I'm talking about. They both like each other, but they're also friendzoned. That sucks, huh? But, even though she's in manga and anime form, Ran is an amazing character. She has both strengths and flaws, it makes her even more interesting. I can't wait to see her reaction of the revelation of Conan being Shinichi--must be both heartbreaking and exciting.

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Believe me, I watch so many TV shows and have so many favorite characters, but these nine are the ones I can think of right now. Alright, hope you enjoy this long post! Do you have any favorites of the women I mentioned above? Or you have anyone else? Let's share!

Oh, and happy International Women's Day to us girls and women!!!

All the gifs shown here are not mine, just taken from Google. Credits to all the makers and uploaders.