Candy Candy (Manga)

Manga: Candy Candy
Genre: Drama,  Romance, Shoujo,  Tragedy
Author: Mizuki Kyoko
Artist: Igarashi Yumiko
Year: 1975 - 1979

I re-read this manga again, I became very nostalgic when I found the anime and bought it from the dvd vendor. I went to rent the manga directly. Needless to say, Candy Candy still has the power to make me cry that much. Shoujo are stories in Japan aimed at young girls (of all ages).

I believe one of the reasons the story has touched many is due to adventures that come to Candy Candy and how she manages to pull through, true to herself.  Her message is one of preserverance, belief in oneself, love and friendship.  The plot can be a bit corny at times, but overall the story does pass the test of time.

I read this manga when I was a kid, possibly when I was around 8 years old. And I still admire the character of Candy that much. It also reminds us how we can smile and be tough despite the hardship, problems, even grievances that we undergo in life.

However, the open ending of Candy Candy leaves me curious and unsatisfied in a way, although thru out the books, it's very enjoyable heart wrenching read. There's no tragic ending nor romantic ending, leaving the readers to decide. I really wish there would be more, at least there should be sequel. :(

You can download the manga here.

Download Candy Candy 

♥♥♥♥♥

Alien Autopsy (2006)

To my surprise I actually enjoyed alien autopsy! It's another refreshing and funny movie I should give two thumbs up. I definitely will watch it again! Ant and Dec are good actors, and i really liked the whole idea of the comedy. It's a great British movie having to deal with the fact or fiction of alien. Very well done story and plot, the acting is great from the whole cast. I also liked the way it was adapted from real life, their movement, the live situation which i thought was clever. Well done.

80% for this  good British, fun filled adventure!

Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time (2010)

The movie has a plot that becomes stale very quick. Nevertheless, the action scenes are well filmed but it seriously lacked the character development to give it the extra edge over this video game adaption. The ending is very predictable, and the whole idea about the hero being framed is illogical, in the sense of why he would murder his own father, the king, in front of everyone when there is no gain.

Anyhow, overlook the flaws, and you'll see a well staged action packed movie. This is a decent film and a very entertaining trip to the cinema. Like most entertaining films that are big on Special Effects, it's incredibly flawed, but I still enjoy the movie.

60% for the movie.

The Karate Kid (2010)

The Karate Kid is a beautiful story with a nice script, nicely laid out scenes and amazing fighting by Jackie Chan and Jaden Smith. I really enjoyed the plot line and most of the acting.

Not only because of the casting of Jackie Chan, a man who is always interesting for me always, his martial arts and stunt team has always been sublime, but also because of the choice of Jayden Smith, the son of Will Smith. This is a kid with the pedigree and potential to make it big.

Many people have said that the film is to long, but seeing some of the simply stunning scenery kinda made me forget about it, and to me, i never really felt the film dragged. The martial arts is cool.

All in all, I really really enjoyed it. Classic comeback kid movie, I was waiting to see that last battle and enjoyed it. Hats off to the young Mr Smith for his martial arts in the movie, absolutely great!

80% for the movie.

Memoirs of a Geisha (2005)

'The very word "geisha" means artist and to be a geisha is to be judged as a moving work of art.' The movie is very artistic indeed, visually and emotionally. It's pure absolute visual delight. We are brought to the geisha world, their beauty, their elegance, their skills, as well as their pain to not being able to "want", but to accept fate to be geisha.

The story is just very beautiful that leaves you feeling very emotional. It takes my heart away to just watch it. The movie is also very dark which really gives it more of a depressing feeling. The girl had to make through a lot to really be happy. The plot is truly mesmerizing. The story at the heart of this movie is poignant but beautifully told.

Overall, 90% for Memoirs of a Geisha, mainly for its fantasy (I'm a sucker at fairy-tale), its romance, its excellent costuming/setting and a superb soundtrack which result in a great visual and auditory treat.

Too much to be narcissistic, hehe

  

Do you know?

Only with you...

My heart is full...

Cute students in storytelling preparation

Story: Baucis and Philemon

Story: The wolf who wears a sheepskin

Story: The Hare and The Tortoise 

(Hehe, they were still discussing who would take which part)

Story: The mouse who couldn't eat cheese

So, with all this preparation, albeit limited, I am sure they are ready to perform on this coming Monday, which is the storytelling competition. All of them presented their stories just now in such an interesting, somehow funny way. Aren't they very lovable? They used up different tone, a lil action, and dialog, but most importantly, the narration was veryyy cute!! Can't wait to see their enjoyable performance on the stage this Monday. 

Ju Hua Tai (Chrysanthemum Flower Bed)

I love this song, very touching and poetic. It's the soundtrack of a Chinese movie "Curse of The Golden Flower", one of the chinese movies I like so much.
So, here is the lyric and the translation of the song.

妳　的淚光　柔弱中帶傷
ni / de lei guang / rou ruo zhong dai shang
Your tears reflect pain in its tenderness

慘白的月彎彎　勾住過往
can bai de yue wan wan / gou zhu guo wang
The pale white crescent moon hooks onto the past

夜　太漫長　凝結成了霜
ye / tai man chang / ning jie cheng le shuang
The endless night freezing into frost

是誰在閣樓上　冰冷的絕望
shi shui zai ge lou shang / bing leng de jue wang
Who is in the loft, in icy cold despair


雨　輕輕彈　朱紅色的窗
yu / qing qing tan / zhu hong se de chuang
Rain gently bouncing off the vermillon window

我一生在紙上　被風吹亂
wo yi sheng zai zhi shang / bei feng chui luan
My entire life on paper, messed up by the wind

夢　在遠方　化成一縷香
meng / zai yuan fang / hua cheng yi lv xiang
Dreams become faint in a faraway place

隨風飄散　妳的模樣
sui feng piao san / ni de mo yang
The image of you, drifting in the wind

＊菊花殘　滿地傷　妳的笑容已泛黃
ju hua can / man di shang / ni de xiao rong yi fan huang
Crushed chrysanthemums reflect our pain. Your smile has faded

花落人斷腸　我心事靜靜躺
hua luo ren duan chang / wo xin shi jing jing tang
Hearts broken into million pieces like petals falling, I lay my troubles aside

北風亂　夜未央　妳的影子剪不斷
bei feng luan / ye wei yang / ni de ying zi jian bu duan
Northern winds gush and the night is still young. Unable to shake off your shadow

徒留我孤單　在湖面　成雙＊
tu liu wo gu dan / zai hu mian / cheng shuang
Leaving me alone with my reflection in the water


花　已向晚　飄落了燦爛
hua / yi xiang wan / piao luo le can lan
Flowers at dusk, fallen splendor

凋謝的世道上　命運不堪
diao xie de shi dao shang / ming yun bu kan
Withering social values, Unthinkable fate

愁　莫渡江　秋心拆兩半
chou / muo du jiang / qiu xin chai liang ban
Don’t cross the river. Worries tearing my heart into half

怕妳上不了岸　一輩子搖晃
pa ni shang bu liao an / yi bei zi yao huang
Afraid that you will be unable to get back ashore, floating for the rest of your life


誰　的江山　馬蹄聲狂亂
shui / de jiang shan / ma ti sheng guang luan
Whose territory is this? Hysterical galloping of horses

我一身的戎裝　呼嘯滄桑
wo yi shen de rong zhuang / hu xiao cang sang
Fully armoured, My life whizzed me by

天　微微亮　妳輕聲的嘆
tian / wei wei liang / ni qing sheng de tan
Coming dawn, you sigh softly

一夜惆悵　如此委婉
yi ye chou chang / ru ci wei wan
A melancholy night such tactful indirectness

REPEAT＊＊

25 books I challenge myself to read

It's been some time I haven't really indulged myself in reading. These few days, on my holidays, I start pondering and thinking that I should do something about it.
My goal is to read 25 books for this first challenge. There will be more to come if this works out. There's no time limit set, yet, I try my best to keep reading everyday.

1. Let The Right one in by John Ajvide Lindqvist
2. The Metamorphosis by Franz Kafka
3. No Country for Old Men by Cormac McCarthy
4. The Road by Cormac McCarthy 
5. The Blood Meridian by Cormac McCarthy 
6. David Copperfield by Charles Dickens
7. The Enchanted Castle by E.Nesbit
8. The Shining by Stephen King
9. Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte
10. Digital Fortress by Dan Brown
11. Mrs Dalloway by Virginia Woolf
12. Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte
13. The adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain
14. We'll meet again by Mary Higgins Clark
15. The Appeal by John Grisham
16. The picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde
17. The amazing adventures of Kavalier and Clay by Michael Chabon
18. The Time Traveler's wife by Audrey Niffenegger
19. Aesop's fables by Aesop
20. The Portrait of a lady by Henry James
21. The Secret Flower and other stories by Jane Tyson Clement
22. Memoirs of a Geisha by Arthur Golden
23. The Happy Prince and other tales by Oscar Wilde
24. Grimms' Fairy Tales by The Brothers Grimm
25.  Jonathan Livingston Seagull by Richard Bach

The Road (2009)

I just finished watching, just cos Juan asked me to watch this. He already told me how sad this movie was, and indeed it is sad and rather depressing. The Road is unrelenting. It is a film adaptation based on Cormack McCarthy novel. Performances were fantastic across the board. Various scenes which could have otherwise been shallow and transparent were fantastically rendered. The Road is one of those movies that haunts you for some time after watching it. However, it isn't a horror. The Road is a story of a man and his boy that are left in a post-apocalyptic world. Their goal is to head south, only hoping something will be there for them.

This is one of those movies that I have felt really emotional watching a movie. Just watching a single parent trying as hard as he could to protect his young son was hard enough, let alone everything else in the movie.

The Road is not for the faint of heart. It is definitely one of the most emotionally powerful movies i have ever seen, and it will leave you with thoughts I personally would care to not think of. It isn't an action-adventure blockbuster, but it is one of the best movies of 2009.

80% FRESH for this movie.