My Personal Favorite...Songs

I had discovered this superb singer by accident when someone else was watching the program on TV called Sing China Season 2.

Those who know me know that I don't really understand Mandarin, but then as they say, music transcends all languages. So I had heard this voice that I thought was so hauntingly beautiful and angelic. I love this singer despite not knowing the meaning of a single word that she was singing.

For those of you who do watch this TV program called Sing China Season 2, you would already know that I'm talking about Doris Guo. 

She is unpretentious and full of talent. I truly believe she will become a mega star in 2-3 years.

Here, have a listen. Let me know what you think.

TV Series - Castlevania Season 1

Series Title

Castlevania

Genre

Animation, Fantasy

Year

2017

I have never played the Konami game before but it is one of those games that have a really strong following and reputation, which was basically 1 of the reasons why it piqued my curiosity about the series by Netflix (it's those upstarts AGAIN). Moreover, since it only had 4 25-minute episodes in Season 1, my investment was pretty low.

Story

Ep 1 was of course the introduction and showing us how a Vlad Dracula was made to wreak all kinds of hellish destruction to the world because the church of the city of Wallachia where they lived had executed the human wife (Yup, you heard that right) of Dracula. They claimed that she was practicing witchcraft (but was in fact science). Why was Dracula not there to protect her? Well, it was at her behest that he had gone to explore the world outside of Wallachia as a man. Ep 2 was for me the weakest of the 4 episodes as it was the slowest and least able to hold my attention. However, it was still an essential episode as it introduced 1 of the key characters of the series - Trevor Belmont, Monster Hunter.Ep 3 shows us how a wandering Trevor Belmont had come across this ravaged city community. The city is led by the "holy" men who are dead set against a small group of pacifist called the Speakers (because they adhere to the philosophy that all matters can be resolved by only speaking). However, among the Speakers is Sypha Belnades, a Magic user (grand daughter of the Speaker's Elder). She had been turned to stone and trapped underneath the catacombs of Wallachia by a giant Cyclops (with Medusa's powers apparently) as she was searching for the Sleeping Soldier, who was prophesied to save the world. Trevor Belmont destroys the Cyclops and saves Sypha.

 

The people have learnt that at every dusk, there will be hellish creatures that descend from the skies to slaughter humans. The "holy men" intend to kill all the Speakers before dusk, as they blame the hellish attacks on the Speakers' presence.Ep 4 Belmont had hidden the Speakers in the Cyclops' catacombs. All hell breaks lose when night falls. In the midst of it, Belmont was helping to fight off the hellish creatures and the "holy men". Due to the massive damage and destruction from all the mayhem, the ground beneath the city crumbles. It is only then we learn how powerful Sypha's magics were. She & Belmont discover a secret chamber down beneath the catacombs and we evetually learn that the Sleeping Soldier is actually Alucard, Dracula's son. Alucard are at odds with his father and wants to destroy Dracula as well. Thus the team is formed. I am quite pleased and like the concept of a Monster Hunter, a Magician and a Vampire on the same team to fight all kinds of evil monsters. It's the same reason why I loved the Van Helsing movie. Sadly, there are no Van Helsing sequels or reboots (yet).

 

I have to say that I quite enjoyed the series and I'm looking forward to more!

The artwork is amazing. Of course, that's because it was done by Japanese artists. Smart move by Netflix. One thing to note tho' is that this is NOT meant for kids. It can get pretty dark.

I would recommend it even for non-fans like me, it was pretty entertaining and intriguing. As I said before, the investment is pretty low, with 4 episodes clocking in at a little less than 2 hours. Give it a try and let me know what you think.

TV Series - Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency Season 1

Movie: 

Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency

Year: 

2016

Genre: 

Comedy, Sci-Fi, Action, Mystery, 

What it was about (in > 50 words)

A strange violent murder occurs at the hotel where Todd works. Unusual characters like Dirk Gently, a cat & a dog - intrudes his mundane life and they must to solve the murder before more strange & dangerous elements encroach into their lives.

Anything special/memorable?

Some choice words to describe the series: Weird, Bizarre, Odd, Errr, Quirky, Unusual, Strange, Rubbish, What The...?! The series starts with the focus on Todd Brotzman (Elijah Wood) & an extremely violent murder scene in a hotel room where the occupants seem to be murdered by a (get ready for this) ...SHARK?!!. However, all the authorities find at the crime scene is a cat!??And you'd think that Todd would be the titular star of the show, but NO. Dirk Gently (Samuel Barnett) is much more peculiar and I don't know about you, his peculiarity is quite the adorable sort, perhaps bordering on annoying, but still loveable. Dirk describes himself to be a detective who solves cases by "following fate" or where the universe leads him. His mantra being "everything in the universe is interconnected". Visually, Dirk Gently is very different from the comic book version (the comic version looks even weirder than the TV version).

Waste/worth the time?

Will I want to watch this series again? Yes (maybe not so soon but definitely yes.) The series has a good mix of action, a healthy dose of comedy, mystery, time-travel hijinks, vampires (not the typical blood sucking variety, but The Rowdy 3 Martin, Vogel, Gripps and Cross, are vampires that feed on emotion and mind energy) & X-File type government conspiracy that involves agencies that try to run their agendas against directives of another's (eg: CIA, FBI, Local Police, etc). Dirk was part of a government agency that studied individuals with 'special' abilities.Farah Black (Jade Eshete), the personal bodyguard of Lydia Spring was thrown into the mix as a future partner and romantic interest for one of the male protagonistsHence, the cat at the crime scene was weaponised with the spirit of a shark whose attack can be devastating, and the dog was Lydia Spring, the daughter of the multi-billionaire Patrick Spring (who we learn later on was the time traveler Zackariah Webb) who was killed in the opening of the series. The bad guys wanted to get their hands on what they refer to as "the Machine" (which was hidden by Patrick Spring/Zackariah Webb before he died) so that they could live forever, by transferring their spirits into younger host bodies. While all of this was happening, more madness was added to the mix in the form of the invulnerable Bart Curlish (Fiona Dourif) - a "holistic" assassin who feels that the universe leads her to people she has to kill. What is her connection to Dirk? Why did she want to kill Dirk?This is to me yet another winner from Netflix's stable altho' the 8 episodes were produced in collaboration with BBC America.

TV Series - Stranger Things

Series Title

Stranger Things

Genre

Sci-Fi, Mystery, Thriller

Year

2016

 Story

Set in a fictional small rural town in Indiana called Hawkins, the story starts with a strange creature (non-human & presumably inter-dimensional) brutally attacking a scientist in what appears to be a secret Govt. Research Lab.

 

We also saw the disappearance of 12-year old Will Byers (1 of 4 very geeky best friends - well they play Dungeons & Dragons, table top version, not the online version mind you). Will seems to have disappeared due to unusual circumstances.

 

Will's overworked single-parent mum Joyce Byers (Winona Ryder) seeks the help of the local Sheriff Chief Jim Hopper (David Harbour) to look for Will. 

Meanwhile, Will's older brother Jonathan Byers (Charlie Heaton), a rather quiet & reclusive teenager, also search for Will on his own.

 

Meanwhile, we also see a nameless girl, whom we later know as El - short for Eleven (Millie Bobby Brown), for the tattoo on her arm, looking very out of place due to her clothes and lack of hair, who had presumably escaped from either a hospital or Research Lab (ref. above) steals food from a local restaurant. Her pursuers (who look like Govt. Agents) are relentless and ruthlessly lethal. The reason is because she was part of a secret Govt. project that is trying to tap into the other dimension's energies so that they might produce enhanced humans. Eleven has telekinetic powers.

 

Will's 3 best friends Mike Wheeler (Finn Wolfhard), Dustin Henderson (Gaten Matarazzo)

& Caleb McLaughlin (Lucas Sinclair) stumble upon Eleven. They figure that her appearance was somehow related to Will's disappearance and they too seek to find Will on their own.

 

As the series progresses, we learn that Will had been taken by the inter-dimensional creature to another world/dimension. Will's mum Joyce is wrought with worry and fear that many think she had lost her mind, especially when she tells others that she keep hearing Will communicate with her.

 

Eventually, we all learn that Joyce was right. It was indeed Will trying to communicate with her from the other dimension dubbed the Upside Down, which is a very dark alternative reflection of Hawkins. They confront the creature, go to the Upside Down and save Will.

Overall

This is a throwback homage to the 80s classic adventure genre a la Goonies/ET with the protagonists being 12-year old kids.

The pacing is great. Viewers can quickly relate to the various characters & for me, I especially loved Eleven, whom I thought was brilliantly portrayed by Millie Bobby Brown, whom I have not seen before but I foresee great things from her. 

There is a good balance of teenage angst & romance provided by Nancy Wheeler & Jonathan Byers. The group dynamics of the 3 best friends plus the new inclusion of El to the group.

There is enough mystery and suspense to keep viewers on the edge of their seats and also the urge to binge watch all 8 episodes at one go as this is a Netflix Series.