Friday, September 6, 2024

Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore

 

Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore poster

I started watching Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore yesterday but didn’t finish in one sitting. I was quite bored.

I had no idea the actor for Grindelwald was recasted. I was watching the film and wondering to myself who this character was in front of Dumbledore and why he did not look familiar. The character name was familiar, Grindelwald, but it just did not click to me. Then I realized that this used to be Johnny Depp’s role! I was so slow!

I thought this movie was quite unnecessary. I didn't care so much about what would happen to Credence, even though he was such a threat in the previous movie, The Crimes of Grindelwald. I also didn’t care so much about Grindelwald knowing that decades later, Lord Voldemort would terrorize the wizarding world. So how bad could Grindelwald be if Lord Voldemort was so much worse? Voldemort was barely even human in his most wicked form, and Grindelwald is a human. Oh well.

I like that Jacob was given a wand and that the wizards around him including Dumbledore trusted him so much despite him being a No-Maj, the American term supposedly for Muggle. Dumbledore told him that his heart is full, or pure, or both, I forgot because I didn’t care so much to listen closely, lol. But it was just nice that he was given recognition for being him even if he wasn’t born in magic. 

The Qilin baby is so cute! Like Disney’s Bambi. Hahaha.

This is not really a movie review I’m serious about. I just wanted to write how bored I was with this film. It makes sense that it is the lowest earning film for the Fantastic Beasts series, and possibly the Wizarding World series which include the Harry Potter films. 

Saturday, August 31, 2024

Knights of The Zodiac

Oh boy.

Knights of The Zodiac poster

I watched Knights of The Zodiac just now, and I’m felt relieved to report that I fell asleep in the middle of a fight scene. That was how bored I was with this film. I’m not even going to bother to write what the movie is about. Supposedly it’s a well-loved manga with a storyline that goes beyond what this movie covered, but the movie failed so badly to capture my interest to go further with its lore. 

The only actors I knew from this movie is Famke Janssen of X-men movie fame, and Mackenyu, who starred in a successful live adaption called One Piece. I kept watching because of Mackenyu but his appeal was not enough to keep me awake, hahaha.

I also had a hunch that the actor who played Mylock has Filipino lineage. I could tell from his face. I don’t know what it is, but somehow looking at a person can help me figure out if they are Filipino or not and more or less it’s accurate. Anyway, the actor’s name is Mark Dacascos whose father originates from the Philippines! Thanks, Wikipedia! 

That’s all my takeaway from the film. It wasn’t inspiring enough for me to think about the film even after it’s over. The stone landscape was pretty cool, but that’s really it.

Sunday, August 11, 2024

Mungchyeoya Chanda 3

Mungchyeoya Chanda 3 뭉쳐야찬다3 poster

This football show, 뭉쳐야찬다3, is something I would have not watched myself. I love football. I love playing it, and also watching it. But it feels like watching a reality TV show about the sport is overkill. The show being broadcast in Korean makes it inaccessible for me too.

But I have a favorite K-pop group, TAN, and one of the members, Bang Taehoon, plays football. He’s a goalkeeper (like me)! I was thrilled when I found out; it was when I saw footage of TAN at Idol Star Athletics Championships (ISAC) 2022, and Taehoon participated in the football tournament. Later on, during Taehoon’s Instagram livestream, I was able to confirm it by asking him in the comments, and he read my question. He also mentioned that he actually plays futsal more than football these days.

So why am I mentioning Taehoon? Well, he joined the cast of Mungchyeoya Chanda! I’ve been following the show over on YouTube for weeks via the JTBC Entertainment and JTBC Voyage channels! There’s also a delayed broadcast over on Netflix now. The show is called “The Gentlemen’s League” and there are English subtitles!

It’s quite a crazy experience to watch both coverages. I watch the current episode on YouTube without understanding the dialogue, then I also watch an older episode on Netflix and see all the details for the second time around, but with more context. It’s like watching a familiar movie but with somewhat fresh eyes. It’s a bit hard to explain, haha.

Despite the language barrier, I can definitely follow the actual football games in the show. How many times have I watched international livestreams of football games of our national teams? A couple of times, I guess. So this is nothing new to me anymore. Besides, football rules are universal. But of course it would be much more enjoyable if I could understand the commentary and the side comments of the players and coaches during the actual game. 

Currently I support Taehoon, but I also found myself liking his teammates in the New Avengers (the show’s current resident team name):

  • Lee Seokchan. He actually played in the previous season of Mungchyeoya Chanda on a different team, and during that particular game against the Avengers (the show’s previous resident team name), he stood out for his speed and agility. He applied for this current season and got drafted as a right forward. I do enjoy it whenever he outruns whoever is marking him because he’s really fast. There are a few things I would like for him to improve: his goal-scoring using a solid ground ball, and his ball-handling in tight spaces.
  • Choi Jongwoo. He claims to be a famous amateur football player in Korea. I cannot verify it, but his performance in the games proves he’s very skillful. He’s a strong leftie and has good defending moves. I haven’t watched him enough to see if he has areas to improve on. I think he’s a solid player overall, I can’t complain at all. /Ah, he had a coaching point from Manager Ahn about marking a player during a corner kick. He was once beaten by a smaller player with a header that cost their team a goal. It was his fault to have not marked the player very well. He just hung on to his opponent without even trying to hit the ball with his head.
  • Hong Beomseok. This guy is like a machine. He appeared as a finalist on Physical 100, and in Mungchyeoya Chanda 3, he was Top 2 in the Shuttle Run test. Amazing. He seems to be a silent but steady player, and I like that about him.
  • Yang Junbeom. I haven’t really paid much attention to his playing style but I know as a centre back, he has good instincts and defending skills. I remember him wearing the captain armband in one game. I have yet to find out on a future (delayed) episode on Netflix if he was given merit or was appointed captain. I really have no idea, honestly. But I won’t complain if he’s captain, haha.
  • Kim Jinjja. He is the most analytical and strategic of all the players. And I’m glad he’s not just all talk. He can definitely do what he preaches and has great quality passes.
  • I will lump these players together: Lim Namgyu, Ryoo Eungyoo, Heo Minho and Lee Daehoon. They are members of the old Avengers team who were able to claim their spots in New Avengers. Their hard work deserves a round of applause. They don’t move like amateur football players anymore.
  • I would like to mention Bang Taehoon here just because I watch him a lot in the show, haha. He’s a youth football player for 6 years until he had to retire from a knee injury, if I’m not mistaken. But he has played football in his spare time. Taehoon can be courageous and agile, but of course there’s still room for improvement. I would love for him to get more goalkeeper training. It would be great to see him catch the ball with more precision and confidence, rather than just deflect or punch it out of safety. I would love for him to work on his goal kick. I can’t pinpoint it but there’s something off about his form or posture when he kicks a long ball, like he’s not able to swing his leg very well because of it. His catching form needs some work too, his hands, his feet. I think he has a bright future ahead if he really wants to pursue this path. Only time will tell.
I am excited to watch future episodes of this season but I’m not sure if I will continue watching the show if ever Taehoon is not in the cast anymore. He is the main reason I keep watching it anyway. But it’s cool to watch Korean football this way. It’s fun and educational to witness the coaching style of Ahn Jung Hwan and the rest of his coaching staff. I learn a lot from watching him give his opinions on each episode. 

Taehoonie, fighting!!!! Mahal Kita!!

Saturday, August 10, 2024

The Umbrella Academy Season 4

The Umbrella Academy Season 4 poster

I’m dipping my toes on writing again. I think I just want to have more space and freedom to write about the stuff I watch online. X, which I still fondly call Twitter, has the audience, but is just not enough for me. I feel rather restricted over there.

I just finished watching the 4th season of The Umbrella Academy. I must say, I feel rather sad about the ending. But let me talk about the Hargreeves children first.

I’m glad to see Luther. He makes me laugh even if he doesn’t seem like he’s trying to be funny. Despite him being a simpleton, his heart is pure and truly fits the role of Number One. Is he the oldest? I’m not sure. I haven’t really looked into all their character profiles. But I feel that his kindness and warmth deserve some respect. Their old mansion is dilapidated but he still lives there, rather alone until Ben was released from prison. Was it out of poverty because he’s a struggling “professional dancer” or was it because he wanted to preserve the mansion where he and his siblings grew up in? Either way, without him there, his siblings wouldn’t have set foot in that place again. I feel that he is the glue of the family. I thought it used to be Viktor (Vanya in earlier seasons), because he used to stay behind whenever their siblings were on a mission. He strived so hard to appear useful and get the approval of their adoptive father, so a way to do that was for him to connect and be of service to each of his sibling, until he snapped and started living his authentic life. That’s really how I remember Viktor unless I forgot some important details about him. But in this season, Viktor is the distant sibling and it was Luther who reached out to him and the rest of the Hargreeves. Luther even took care of Ben, even though in this new timeline, Ben is not his brother because he’s from the Sparrow Academy. There’s nothing awful I could say about Luther in this season. He even thinks of Sloane every and now then, which is pretty sweet of him.

Diego lived a normal life as a husband to Lila, a father to his kids, and a delivery driver. Losing his powers has made his day to day dull. I think he even experienced some burnout. He’s not my favorite Hargreeves, but I felt bad for him. 

Allison got what she wanted, which is to have her daughter back in her life. Claire is all grown up in this timeline, as this was set 5 years after the third season. Allison has had more acting roles. And she is also taking care of one more person, and that is Klaus. Klaus has become a germaphobe and a safety freak. His ability to resurrect has disappeared, so he has become paranoid of dying and is trying his best to survive in a small world he has set for himself. But the good news is that he has become sober for three years already. Even though I know Allison is not Klaus’s mother, I think it was beneficial that they stayed together. Claire also seemed to care about him too. Allison and Viktor could not find it in their hearts to reconcile with each other anymore, so I think Klaus being with Allison is a huge mental and emotional support for her even if she might not realize it.

Five. I felt bad for the guy. Didn’t he have a long relationship with a mannequin named Dolores? And in the godawful years he spent in the subway, I think he has found another relationship destined to be doomed in the person of Lila. Five has the ability to travel through time but anywhere he went, he never found true love that he can really call his. Note that he is an old man with a body of a young boy. As if that isn’t a struggle on its own…

The ending. I feel so sad about how they all had to cease to exist. The Hargreeves were the actual anomalies of the original timeline, so to restore it, they had to die and be cancelled out (it’s that Marigold-Durango thing). 

This Jennifer character, I didn’t enjoy it at all, hahaha. Like she was just there and had nothing much to contribute. Take away her weird energy from the Durango particle and we are left with a boring character, meh.

I feel kind of deceived by the ending too. Like what did they mean that August 8, 2024 was such a fine and dandy day??! It felt like all of the seasons became useless. As a viewer, I am left with the burden of knowing who the Hargreeves were. The Cleanse only happened in the timeline, but not in my head. And it sucks that knowing who they were means nothing now. That’s why I hate the ending as much as I feel sad about it. But the ending also makes sense and I can’t think of a better one.

Overall, The Umbrella Academy was a bumpy yet interesting ride, and I’m glad I took a chance to watch all seasons even though I was quite a late adopter. It’s not my most favorite show, but I did enjoy it and that’s good enough for me.

Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore

  I started watching Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore yesterday but didn’t finish in one sitting. I was quite bored. I had no ide...