Red Moon - Kalafina [2010.03.17]

Wrote this review last year and left it lying around in the folders of my laptop. Now that I have a platform to post it, I shall.

Red Moon is Kalafina's latest album, out of 13 songs, 9 are new. They have written more new songs for this album compared to their Seventh Heaven album. I am only reviewing the newly written songs which I perceive to be more outstanding than the rest .

1. Red Moon
Starts off melancholicly with a soft tune, a harmonious choir of voices starts singing, quickly mixed with the uprise of musical instruments, and Wakana, as usual, assumes her leading role by starting off with her clear, angelic voice. You'd know you will be expecting nothing but pure epicness from this song! Just wait till you get to the chorus, where electric guitars enter and gives the epic factor with the girls singing. It sounds so dramatic and overwhelming, it's almost like ear rape. In a good way!

And just like that, you'll know that their famed composer, Yuki Kajiura, never fails. A very grand way to start off with their second album.

3. Te to te to me no me no (Hand and hand and Looking into Each Other's Eyes)
Yes, weird song title, I know. I fancy this song, particularly because it's my first time hearing an exotic Arabic sounding song from them. I mean, sitars, in a Kalafina song? Yuki Kajiura's venturing into a new genre maybe? I love the whole ambiance of the song, and their vocals work pretty well. This proves that they do have range. The music has an upbeat tune along with the instruments, and my favourite Kalafina member, Keiko, finally has a leading role in this. *sheds tears of elation*

7. Yami no Uta (Song of Darkness)
Ah, another exotic Arabic song. The way the song starts off, it's just makes the entire song sound like one great climax - the strings played the melody, and the drums pounding away in the background. It gave an evil aura in a good way, as the title implies. KEIKO's voice works the best again, like it did in Te to te to me no me no. The chorus is love! I don't really have to stress on how well their voices mesh together as a three-women team with a soprano, alto and bass voices belonging to each one respectively. Highly recommended!

13. I Have a Dream
No, this is not a Japanese cover version of ABBA's song with the same title. It's an entirely new song on its own. It sounds like a typical uplifting, inspirational tune with good vocal performances from all the girls. I find it very likable, especially when I'm a sucker for ballads. What a good way to end the album.

These are just the highlights of their new songs. The album also includes tracks from their previously released singles, and yeah, they're all pretty good too!

1. red moon
2. Hikari no Senritsu (光の旋律, Melody of Light)
3. Te to Te to Me to Me (テトテトメトメ, Hand in Hand and Eye to Eye)
4. fantasia
5. Haru wa Kogane no Yume no Naka (春は黄金の夢の中, Spring is in a Golden Dream)
6. Kyrie
7. Yami no Uta (闇の唄, Song of Darkness)
8. Hoshi no Utai (星の謡, Chant of the Stars)
9. storia
10. intermezzo
11. progressive
12. Lacrimosa
13. I have a dream (Eve no Jikan Movie theme)

*titles in bold are the author's favourites.

The rest of the songs are relatively decent, the usual Kalafina style. But they're all worth listening to, enough to keep a Kalafina fan elated!

Red Moon

Scarlet Ballet - May'n [2011.05.11]

May'n latest single - Scarlet Ballet. I've always been a fan of May'n ever since her debut in Macross Frontier, taking the singing role of the Galactic Songstress Sheryl Nome. I've been keeping track of her singles, and none could match the standards of the songs she sang in the anime written by Yoko Kanno.

This, however, could rival them.

The moment May'n starts singing, accompanied by string instruments in the background playing an upbeat, magical tune, my faith in May'n was instantly restored.

Just listen to the song, but don't bother to watch the music video. It is almost horrible with zero effort. Choreography was... below mediocre. And I had no idea what has May'n doing, mimicking that gunshot pose most of the times. Music video just does not do the song justice, unfortunately.

Delectable Mustard.

Source: Kiss and Tell

Yves St. Laurent Tribtoo inspired. Truly love at first sight for shoe lovers! Suede, and in 5-inches. This is certainly not commonly found in the shoe stores of Malaysia!

Easily paired with a dull-coloured outfits, the striking colours of the mustard pumps will just simply scream for attention. I'm imagining them being paired with dark denim skinny jeans and a white top, a simple combination but will do the trick, no doubt.

Friend of mine, Rachel, imagined it to be paired with a white summer dress and a matching cinch belt. A perfect look for the summer, or Malaysian weather since it's always hot here.

RM89, exluding postage.

Le sigh. I guess this shall belong in my folder of Lusts, and not Possessions. Tight budget here.

Gossip Girl Season 4 Episode 22 Season Finale

Spoilers alert!

Noteworthy scenes:







I couldn't have asked for a better way to patch the huge gap between Chuck and Blair than this. The spontaneous dance scene, accompanied by the ever-so-apt Rolling in the Deep by Adele. They chose the right song, with the perfect lyrics to describe every bit of their relationship.

Stolen moments of happiness and love-making, even though Chuck let Blair go in the end, but honestly, there's never been a more compatible couple on-screen such as them, in my opinion.

Being the hard-core Chuck and Blair (hereby, known as Chair) fan that I am, I can't help but look back at the end of season 1, during Bart Bass and Lily's wedding when Chuck was giving his best man speech.

Chuck said, "In the face of true love, you don't just give up, even if the object of your affection is begging you to."

WHAT HAPPENED TO THAT HUH, CHUCK!

Then, rationality sinks in and tells me that if they got back together so quickly, there wouldn't be anything interesting to tell in the following season.

Gossip Girl fared extremely well on the ratings chart when season 1 and 2 premiered. Season 3 was so-so, presuming that they have derailed from the novel's storyline and wrote their own. Season 4 was just... a trainwreck, especially the scriptwriting. I hope Cecily von Ziegesar could at least contribute a part of her wit to the scriptwriting in following seasons?

I'm highly anticipating season 5 of Gossip Girl to know how more drama between them will unfold. After all, everyone's pretty sure that Blair is pregnant with Chuck's baby... One can hope, yes?

Thor (2011) - A thunderous piece of work.

To be honest, before I watched Thor, I was not particularly excited to watch it. To me, it was just another movie to watch for me to past time. However, it pleases me greatly to say that my perception has been changed! I have rediscovered my long lost love for the Norse mythology (many thanks to my gaming experience with the PS2 game - Valkyrie Profile 2). It stars Chris Hemsworth, Natalie Portman, Tom Hiddleston, Anthony Hopkins and more.

Thor was an excellent visual treat. The CGI renditions of Thor's birthplace, Asgard was needless to say, breathtaking. I was stunned and impressed. Not only did the production crew manage to exceed the standards of the Final Fantasy games, they did it so realistically. It would be one of my greatest regrets that I did not have the chance (and money) to experience it in 3D.

Despite that, the storyline is nothing to scream about. Sort of run-of-the-mill, but director Kenneth Branagh managed to make it work. It tells the tale of how Thor, who was arrogant, war-hungry but powerful was cast out of the realm of Asgard for betraying his father's orders. His father is Odin, the king of Asgard. Thor was sent to Earth to live among humans. There, he discovered love, improved his flaws and defended them.

Chris Hemsworth portrayed Thor really well. Physically and in character. I do not claim to have read any of the Marvel comics, but I have seen the cartoon images of it on the Internet. His newly buffed up body was love at first sight! Besides being a warrior, Chris succeeded in being one of those charismatic gentlemen on screen too, especially in scenes which involve Natalie Portman, who plays Thor's love interest, Jane Foster. It was warm, cosy, and a far cry from the war-hungry God of Thunder.

Chris Hemsworth flaunting his delicious male body on screen.

The greatest surprise of the film, to me, was Tom Hiddleston, who portrayed the antagonist of the film, Loki, Thor's younger brother. Playing the super villain certainly has placed Tom in the limelight, and he is receiving well-deserved attention from the press and fans! He was really in to his character as Loki. Every conniving, damaged, recognition-seeking bit of the God of Mischief. Tom has this cool composition, and there's something about him that you find inexplicably sexy.

Tom Hiddleston's portrayal of Loki.

Just like Iron Man, Marvel Studios did not disappoint. They are bringing superheroes back to our era, restoring their glory, if not, enhancing it. With that being said, I am highly anticipating the release of the next superhero film - Captain America: The First Avenger.