Game of Thrones / Season Six Is COMING: Quick Reminder

(NO BOOK SPOILER) You know, 24 has been a pretty special number for me lately, ever since Game of Thrones decided to pick the exact date on next April to premiere its brand new Season Six. So, marking today as March 24th, here is a super quick reminder to what happens in Season Five, and what to expect in Season Six.

1. Once Upon a Time, in a Land Far Far Away...

Back in King's Landing, things seem to get even worse ever after Cersei Lannister's biggest mistake of putting The High Sparrow on power. I still hate Cersei, but I kinda hate The High Sparrow more--and the basic principle of war says that it's fun to watch your enemies destroying each other, especially now that Cersei gets a huge backup from The Zombie Mountain.

Meanwhile, I think Myrcella's death will have a big consequences for The Martell. Despite of having the sweetest natured King after awhile, it seems that King's Landing will take some long, long time before becoming peaceful again, not to mention the strong involvement of The Tyrell. We still, will have a lot-lot screentime here, I supposed.

2. Daenerys Targaryean & A Dothraki Adventure

Who thinks our beloved Khalessi will end up winning the heart of The Dothraki she is trapped with? I do, only that it sounds too good to be true in The Song of Ice and Fire's world. Rest assured, because I honestly don't think Drogo will let his mother to be killed that easily. Plus, we can hope that white knights Ser Jorah and Daario will come to the rescue, at last. We also hope to see more Dany, and we do hope to see her rising in power again! It's been awhile since she's becoming the one character we rooted for the iron throne, after all.

3. Tyrion Lannister & A Queendom to Rule

For the first time in his life, Tyrion is left with a queendom. Of course it can't be any different than a kingdom, but the situations are quite tricky now with Sons of The Harpy on mind. Having people's trust is another issue, as he only left with Varys, Missandei, and Grey Worm. Tyrion has a huge revelation about his life purpose in the previous season, and for good reason, I suppose. And we do miss seeing him on top!


4. Bran Starks & Fi-na-lly

We don't know much yet... but the trailer suggests that Bran will face the mortal enemy of his late brother. White Walker is just creepy and need to be dealt with ASAP, but I hope Bran will do something for his family too. He is the heir of The House of Starks, after all.

5. The Stark Ladies & Their Series of Misfortunate Events

We can all agree that The Starks men and women are equally cursed, but the ladies are on disadvantage as the end of Season Five. Sansa is making her ways to escape Ramsay Bolton with Theon, and the trailer suggests that she made it alive the jump. Since the last season, I'm looking forward to Sansa's big turning point; but she has given none yet. I'm still hoping for her, and certainly for little sister Arya too. Arya has been nothing but fierce in Season Five, but her ultimate revenge led her blind, as in literally blind. Praying that it's only temporary, I honestly don't want Arya to be a true faceless man either. She is Arya of House Stark, and if she needs to forget that to go on, can't she just go on?

6. Jon Snow... We Wish

Don't we all? Didn't HBO try too hard to make us believe about  Jon Snow's death? How can he die? What about R + L = J? Until we made it Season Six, I really can't bring myself to truly believe about his fate. Some fan-theories are actually worthwhile; we can expect his resurrection from Melisandre, who happens to be nearby Castle Black. And because he died already, he is no longer The Brothers of Nights Watch--meaning: he can now be the king of the iron throne, technically speaking.

And you also can watch a beautifully made Season Six trailer here:

x

Michelle

(REVIEW) Batman v Superman / Grande Movie, Tall Plot (2016)

Batman v Superman: The Dawn of Justice is grand, I can assure you that. The screenplay is ama-zing. We are told (a lot, everytime we got to the internet lately) that this is not just another superhero cliche, because this is Batman and Superman, and it can be anything but small.

When it comes to Superman and Batman, of course you should give something more than just a threatening, crazy villain (only that even though Jesse Eisenberg's Lex Luthor is many things, he is not threatening). The results are a very grim perspective of superheroes you can expect coming from DC. Or should I say, from a post-Nolan DC.  It's nobody's fault that Christopher Nolan was doing a remarkable, outstanding job in capturing The Batman Trilogy as a solemnly dark masterpiece. I enjoyed The Marvel Universe, but it never quite get me the way a single DC character serves a true human complexity. Compared to DC's, Marvel's characters seemed light in nature, and I honestly think that they are doing an equally great job serving two different niches.

However, Nolan's Batman Trilogy is a totally different world. Instead, Batman v Superman is serving as a direct sequel to Man of Steel, which I didn't find too pleasing. I feel that Man of Steel didn't serve a whole pleasant experience as a movie, moreover a reboot of the world's most known superhero, for the sake of its sequels. Sadly, Batman v Superman again giving the very same feeling as it seems like it only served us a milestone for upcoming Justice League's movies and Wonder Woman's. And we're back again to the very flaw of franchises-movies.

Exactly 18 months after Man of Steel took place, we can see Batman/Bruce Wayne (Ben Affleck) as one of the survivor of Superman/Clark Kent's (Henry Cavill) horrifying battle back then in Metropolis. Though many people worshipped Superman as God, many others are questioning his mere existence and purpose on Earth. And Clark is having a serious trouble confronting all the pro-cons in medias, especially because he is also working in it. On the other hand, Bruce is tracking a suspicious "White Portuguese", whom then connect him to Lex Luthor (Jesse Eisenberg). He isn't alone, because suspicious yet beauty Diana Prince (Gal Gadot) seems to be equally interested. Throughly, Bruce came into a conclusion that Superman's being is a lethal threat to Earth, and decided to end him, for good. It is a suicide mission, even for suicidal Bruce Wayne with troubled past; but that's why Kryptonite exists in the first place.

I love Ben Affleck; I really do! He is doing great in big movies such as Gone Girl and Argo, and I kinda love him as a funny/charming situation individual too; but honestly? He's not exactly doing a very best job potraying The Bruce Wayne of Gotham. Affleck said he is doing a totally different Batman with Christian Bale's Batman, but the vibes are very similar you can't help but comparing. He is simply a more unstable, angry, and ambitious Batman, without actual good and believable explanations rather than yet again the scene of Mr & Mrs. Wayne's tragedy in the past. Shortly, I didn't see the pain; only anger. As a big Batman's fangirl, I'm really disappointed, because I know Batman is so much more than that. Superman is being Superman, and I do think that Henry Cavill looks like Superman, only that I will still favour him as Napoleon Solo of The Man from U.N.C.L.E. to date. Wonder Woman is someone to root for, though; Gal Gadot is effortlessly stunning just the way she is, and that way she gives Wonder Woman's femme fatale just like that. Funny because she is the one whose cast got so many critiques from public! To be fair, she is doing so little there's nothing to judge; even Lois Lane's rescues alone has more screen time, I guess.

But I do like the way they're doing a realistic aftermath post the Superman/Zod battle, which ruined Metropolis and killed thousands. You don't simply move on from that in even years, it will be remembered forever. If we do have a Superman in this world, I'd be more scared than in love; those "Does the world need a Superman?" situations are serving as the core theme of this movie. There are a lot solemnity of the nature of man and gods, all-good or all-powerful gimmick, and powers and its consequences. So yeah, Batman v Superman potrays the superheroes as emotionally drained individuals that does seem real, giving us a deep thought in process, but forget to give us an actual strong plot to root for. Most of us know that Batman and Superman will be friends in the end of the movie, even before having our seat. They do have a little surprise, but even that doesn't cover a long two hours of them being all rivalry without us screaming in our head like, "C'mon, just be friends already!"

More or less, I think it is still fair to say that Batman v Superman is captured beautifully and engaging. Wonder Woman's theme song is winning at everything. They do, however, have a fatal flaw in the frustating, boring conflict that served merely for the sake of The Justice League's upcoming movies. Much to my subjective love, I still do tolerate that and rooting for another DC movies, just because. I don't know what the real critics may say about the movie (so far they are pretty mixed up), but if they meant to tickle us to watch Justice League and Wonder Woman with Batman v Superman, I think it's a 100% goal, at least for me.

(REVIEW) Me And Earl And The Dying Girl / Friendship Doesn't Kill, or Does It? (2015)

I'm in love with this movie; I'm in love with how the story is being told and everything. Me and Earl and the Dying Girl has all the good vibes of a Sundance's winning movie, if not more. It is vibrant and enchanting, funny and witty, relatable and moving.

Coming from Alfonso Gomez-Rejon, based on a book by Jesse Andrews, Me and Earl and the Dying Girl is telling us a story about Greg and two of his friends; which actually named Earl and actually dying and named Rachel. Earl is his lifetime's co-worker, because despite of how normal he looks like (if dividing the entire high-school into various sovereign states is considered normal), Greg is actually scared of the idea of friend. Rachel, on the other hand, depart of being a dying girl, is someone Greg befriended because his mother forced him to.

This is a coming-of-age, friendship story of three senior students that is everything but cliche. Greg is narrating all the story and midway I'm so sure he has the talent of directing by the way I am so absorbed in the plot (42 movies to count, so far). As for Rachel, copying what Greg said to us later when we are far enough, "I like this girl Rachel, and I'm gonna be pissed if she dies at the end." Earl is completing the trio as the perfect wingman, even though this is not a touching romantic story. I love the way Greg and Rachel's relationship is progressing as the story goes, but Earl has always been there for Greg since forever; and he is not someone that easy to be friend with, so I'm gonna give Earl all the credits he deserved.

The plot is beautifully wrapped, but frankly the highlight for me is the privilege of getting to know Greg so well from his point of view. It might be biased, as I see myself in Greg so much. Me just better at pretending, but we do have similarity in the way we hate non-stop strangers and the survival game we have to do everyday. Maybe that's why I love Greg at everything because he is able to bring up the irony in the funniest way. Greg is weird, but I agree that everybody are weird. Greg is embracing himself as that terminally awkward guy whose face a little like ground-hog and has a very low opinion of himself. Only that he is so fun to be with, if you give him the chance. He doesn't always come with the very best feedback because he overthinks so much, but gradually we can see about how much he cares when he does.

I think it is square to say this is a movie that would complete a movie marathon of movies like Juno (which was actually come from the same studio) and The Perks of Being Wallflower. Happy watching!

x
Michelle