Lucy - 2014

Category: Movie

Genre:  Action / Sci-Fi / Thriller

Director: Luc Besson

Writer: Luc Besson

Producer: Canal +, Cine, EuropaCorp

Cast: Scarlett Johansson, Morgan Freeman, Min-Sik Choi, Amr Waked, Julian Rhind Tutt, Pilou Asbaek, Nicolas Phongpheth and more.

Tagline: She has the Power

A woman was supposed to do a very simple job. All Lucy needs to do was deliver a briefcase to a certain Mr. Jang. But almost immediately she was caught in a dark deal where she is captured and was being turned into a drug mule. But, then she turns the tables around and transforms into a warrior they've never seen before.

From it's trailer.. I deduced it to: "Ahhh not another limitless film". But, although the "drug" was similar ... this one's more scientific and intelligent. And it has a deep sense of perception when it comes to Time. I find it cool. Scarlett did a wonderful job portraying her character, from the hangover party-girlfriend of Richard, to a terrified blackmailed errand girl to becoming a hostage and a witness to barbaric and gruesome cold, calculated kills of that Asian Mafia ... to becoming Lucy - the one who is slowly colonizing her own brain... :) Perfect!

21 Jump Street - 2012

Category: Movie

Genre: Comedy

Director: Phil Lord, Christopher Miller

Writer: Michael Bacall

 Producer: Columbia Pictures, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayr MGM, Relativity Media

Cast: Jonah Hill, Channing Tatum, Brie Larson, Dave Franco, Rob Riggle, DeRay Davis, Ice Cube, Dax Flame and more.

Tagline:   The only thing getting blown tonight is their cover.

 Schmidt(Jonah Hill)  and Jenko (Channing Tatum) joined the police force and ended up as partners riding bicycles in the city park. Both of them looked young, and were assigned on a special undercover task to infiltrate a drug ring that is supplying the high school students with synthetic drugs.


I had a good laugh at this. It's oftentimes comically weird. Its about friendship and partnership.

Rurouni Kenshin - 2012

Original Title:  Meiji kenkaku roman tan

Category: Movie

Genre: Action

Director: Keishi Ohtomo

Writer: Nobuhiro Watsuki, Kiyomi Fujii

Producer: C&I Entertainment, IMJ Entertainment, RoC Works Co. and more

Cast: Sato Takeru,Emi Takei, Yu Aoi, Teruyuki Kagawa and more

Tagline:

When the Bakumatsu war ended in 1868, former assassin Kenshin Himura disappears and promises to defend those who need without killing and became a wanderer throughout Japan with a sword that has an inverted blade during the transition of the samurai age to the New Age. Kenshin comes across the idealistic Kaoru Kamiya and began helping her. Meanwhile a killer "Battosai" is murdering police officers and various innocent individuals leaving messages attached to their bodies.


Oro. Ororo. What a funny term for "aguy" or "ouch" it is. (Well, I think it's his own expression of "ouch") Haha.

What?? Sato Takeru is hereeee? After watching Bloody Monday, i find him... being the lead role in this movie!!!

Wala na. Crush ko na sya. Totoo! HAHA. Let's see, i bet he'll do well, as I fit him, Skylar and Miura (Bloody Monday).

It's not that gory, well... uhmmm... some parts are. But, it's actually a good one as it brings life to Samurai X the infamous anime. This was one of the animes I used to watch back in the old days. Boohoo. And was delighted to see it now "live" and what better than a promising actor as the lead? Haha. Okay. Enough about Sato Takeru.

It has good cinematography and an excellent choreography on the fight scenes. To die hard fans of Samurai X (the manga) there might be a few changes as his character or personality was slightly turned to emo-ish and reflective. A tweaking done by the makers of this film, which is actually good.

Photo Source: Wikipedia

Ghajini - 2008

Category: Movie

Genre: Drama / Mystery

Director: A.R. Murugadoss

Writer: Piyush Mishra, A.R. Murugadoss

Producer: Geetha Arts

Cast: Aamir Khan, Asif Ahmed, Tinnu Anand, Asin, John Cardiel, Vibha Chibbher, Sunil Grover and more.

Tagline: Remember December 25.


This is a Bollywood Film... which is a remake of a 2005 Tamil movie of the same title.

A medical student named Sunita is curious about the case of Sanjay Singhania who is said to have a short-term memory loss. Eventhough she was warned, she makes friends with Sanjay and begins to uncover the mystery which baffled many police of the area... she then is involved in drugs, crime and gangsters......

Another muscle movie! Haha. Aamir Khan is too hot here. Although I irked at some gory scenes... it was quite confusing at the beginning. Its a love story mixed with crime, gangs and murder... plus a short term memory loss case. It's both heavy and light. I enjoyed the light moments though.. can we have more of that?

Lead Actor and Actress made an exceptional job! Very believable..cuts to the core! This movie sure captures the emotions of the viewers you would almost forget that it's just a movie.

The skit with the detective was comical though...also sometimes you get annoyed with the role of the medical student wanting to punch her.... there were a few flaws in the script though...  :)

Fast Five - 2011

Category: Movie

Genre: Crime / Action

Director: Justin Lin

Writer: Chris Morgan, Gary Scott Thompson

Producer:  Universal Pictures, Original Film, One Race Productions

Cast: Vin Diesel, Paul Walker, Dwayne Johnson, Jordana Brewster, Tyrese Gibson, Ludacris, Matt Schulze, Sung Kang, Gal Gadot, Tego Calderon, Don Omar, Joaquim de Almeda and more


Dominic (Vin Diesel) partners with Brian O'Conner (Paul Walker) and the rest of the elite team of top racers. They find themselves on the wrong side of the law once again as they try to switch lanes between a ruthless drug lord and a relentless federal agent Luke Hobbs (Dwayne Johnson).

Too much muscle!!!! Vin and The Rock??? At the beginning it was kind of.... a wrinkle in the nose... however I enjoyed the ending and the end scene. It wanted to surprise you.. but was predictable in their surprises though.

Im sure the fans of the F&F films will enjoy this because it collated all the stars from part 1 to 4. :) A lot of eye popping action can be seen all through out but don't expect that much from the story which can be a mix of other movies tis and tat. :) 

Queen Bee of Mimosa Branch - Haywood Smith

Category: Books

Genre: Southern Fiction / Friendship

Author: Haywood Smith

Overview and Review of Queen Bee of Mimosa Branch by Haywood Smith.

First Sentence:

"I took the long way home that fateful midsummer day last July, maybe because I still couldn't quite believe what I was about to do."

Linwood Breedlove Scott, just divorced her husband Phil who ran away with a stripper. Along the way, the IRS took everything away except for her coffee table. Now, she is about to go back to her hometown - conservative + gossip = Mimosa Branch, GA to create her new life. Her childhood home with her parents is what Lin often refers to as the "loonybin", where she thinks everything is crazy. Little did she know that the place and people she calls the "loony" were the people who matters to her most and would stick with her and show her "real love".

It was a bit boring at first, maybe because I felt the heat of the place while I was reading (it's also quite hot sometimes here in our city). But, as I moved into a much cooler place to read I enjoyed the book. For one thing, it is outrageously funny. It is also an easy read and written very well. It basically focuses on friendship and family. Funny "green" can be read as well. And the mix of interesting characters made up most of the story.

For a fiction and comedy it's amusing how the writer never missed out on some life lessons you would get from here: Moving on and creating a new life is not always as easy as it seems. That it is a big, fat waste of energy to fight change.

Lin: "Yesterday's gone, tomorrow's always a day away, but today's a gift. That's why it's called the present. It took a lot to teach me how to live the gift, but I wouldn't change a bit of it, because it got me here."

Way Past Cool - Jess Mowry

Category: Books

Genre: Young-Adult

Author: Jess Mowry

Fact: Already a movie.

Overview and Review of Way Past Cool by Jess Mowry

First Sentence:

"Gordon! GUN!" screamed Curtis, diving off his skateboard onto trash-covered concrete.

Word! Yo, dude!

This book is set on "Oaktown" which is Oakland, California and very much about young African-American teens ages 12-13 are struggling to survive in their town. Two (2) rival gangs, The Friends and The Crew are living in a strict code of honor and a set of rules. Both gang having leaders, Gordon (The Friends) and Wesley (The Crew) which tries to bring order into their own territory and delegate duties. One, 16 year old dealer named Deek tried to place The Friends and The Crew against each other by hiring two Bakersfield guys to ambush them on separate accounts. These guys are living wayyyy past bad. Deek's bodyguard named Ty would play an important role in this story and of course also the "heart and magic boy" of the Friends named Lyon.

By the time, you finish this book, you would be all familiar to some ghetto language. It's actually a great story which a lot of kids that are into "gangs" would relate too. Although, the language - the ghetto language would get you all confused but that's pretty much because of the characters which uses the language. The book is not "preachy" but you could see it talks about "love" and the "magic in our hearts" and of course in believing. Great read.

The Anastasia Syndrome and other stories - Mary Higgins Clark

Category: Books

Genre: Thriller

Author: Mary Higgins Clark

Overview and Review of the Anastasia Syndrome and Other Stories (Lucky Day, Double Vision and The Lost Angel) by Mary Higgins Clark.

I was always curious as to how Mary Higgins Clark writes. Finally, I got the chance to read one of her book that has lots of different stories written by her.

The Anastasia Syndrome - 3 and a half

The title refers to a drug used to regress a certain person back to history. A story that transported me to old English history with King Charles I and King Charles II because it involves a woman named Judith Chase who is a historical writer. Judith Chase was an orphan during World War II. Part of writing English History was the plan of tracing back her origins/roots. In one social gathering, she met a Doctor who was deemed a charlatan by the many because of his discovery of the "Anastasia Syndrome".

Very nicely written, and what a twist. She builds your tension right from the beginning to the end. No happy-endings with her though.

Lucky Day - 4

A man named Bill was telling everybody he met that he was feeling lucky. During that lucky day he was found dead during a cold wet night at a park. Nora one of the person Bill loves to gab with felt sorry for the old man and was determined to find out about his death.

Even though the story is short, it is still filled with suspense. It also managed to be mysterious up until the end. An ending I wasn't expecting. Nice twist but sad.

Double Vision - 2 and a half

This is about a frustrated psychotic actor named Jimmy who is out to get Caroline who he believes to have spoiled his acting career and at the same time calling her his "jinx".

Not one of her best but equally entertaining.

The Lost Angel - 2 and a half

This story tells of a lost girl named Jamie and was found posing for a magazine as an angel.

Sweet story and it did not lack the thrill. Sweet ending.

The Last Family - John Ramsey Miller

Category: Books

Genre: Thriller

Author: John Ramsey Miller

Overview and Review of The Last Family by John Ramsey Miller.

Martin Fletcher may be your worst nightmare. You may wish you never knew him. He is insanely clever and he is back for revenge. He wants to eat your heart out by going after your family.

Paul Masterson hibernated to a mountain in Montana six years ago when an ambush left him half-blind and mutilated (almost). HIs self-esteem went back to zero, he left his family and punished himself by being alone and tormented.

In 3-4 years the families of his 3(three) friends (Rainey, Joe and Thorne) died on separate accounts either by accident so no one would suspect. And Paul's family is the last target. Rainey's family was the last to be annihilated (sounds so holocaust-y right?) and Martin left his mark on Rainey's wife.

Well-written. High family drama and an intense thriller rolled into one. You would almost suspect everyone in the book like what I did with Reid and Woody. A sudden turnabout would surprise you in the near end, one you wouldn't really expect and did not see coming. Although, I was quite disappointed with the ending because it did not say much about Paul and Laura's relationship. Left it hanging.