'Kung Fu Panda 3' Completes an Endearing Trilogy

Among the Kung Fu Panda movies, the first remains my favorite.  Not only did it have a more interesting character arc for Po (one of my favorite martial artists in fiction) but it’s by far with the most depth.  Master Oogway’s “present” quote is one of the most memorably profound movie lines I’ve ever encountered (I find its powerful truth resonating with relevance in my life till this day).  Nevertheless, I enjoyed Kung Fu Panda 3 as much as its predecessors.

In Kung Panda 3, Po is reunited with his biological father – something foreshadowed at the end of the second movie.  Meanwhile, a powerful immortal named Kai – who is capable of turning warriors into jade amulets, stealing their chi, and putting them under his control – arrives from the spirit world.  Kai used to be Master Oogway’s friend, but his greed for power left Oogway no choice but to banish him to the spirit world.  Now that he’s back in the mortal world, he’s keen of destroying Oogway’s legacy – by demolishing the Jade Palace and enslaving his students.  Learning that only a master of true chi can defeat Kai, Po goes with his father to the secret panda village so that he can learn it since chi is supposedly an inherent ability of pandas.  As Po learns more of his kind’s fun-loving ways and undergoes “training”, Master Shifu and the Furious Five are left at the Jade Palace to slow Kai down.

'Cinderella Monogatari' Is a Superiorly Done Fairy Tale Love Story

Five years ago, I made a top ten list for best anime series.  A surprising entry on that list is Cinderella Monogatari, which got the number 9 spot.  Since writing that list, I’ve re-watched a couple of old anime series, and have gained a deeper appreciation on a few of them (especially Cowboy Bebop, which only got an honorable mention in that list), that I now think they are more deserving to be in that list instead of some of the entries, including Cinderella Monogatari.

But that doesn’t mean that I now think Cinderella (I’ll be referring to it as such from this point; Cinderella Monogatari is kind of long) is not as great as I thought it was.  Yes, I now believe that a couple of anime series are better than it, and I know it’s not free of dumb things that can be nitpicked, but it’s still a notable, well-made anime series.  It’s still one of my favorites.  In fact, let me make this bold statement: Cinderella is, in my opinion, the best retelling of a classic fairy tale in all media – including Disney movies.  Really.

'Georgie' Taught Me That Romantic Love Is Insane and Messy

Georgie – or Georgie! or Lady Georgie – is an 80’s anime series that was licensed, “Tagalized” (dubbed in Tagalog), and aired by a local network during the 90’s.  Like with all 90’s cartoons, I immersed myself in it.  It eventually became a favorite of mine.  Up until now, I can still sing by memory its (Tagalized) opening theme song.

I loved all of those “Tagalized” 80’s-90’s anime series, but I found Georgie a unique experience above all the others.  Now, I actually haven’t re-watched it since I was a kid (can’t find a source that has all episodes in English or Filipino) so I can’t tell how it will hold up if I watch it as an adult.  I might find it cheesy or ridiculous if I watch it now, but there was a time back in the 90’s in which I thought of it as the best thing on TV.

Again, I found Georgie a unique experience.  What do I mean by that? Well, I watched this at the same time as Cinderella Monogatari (this one, however, I’ve been able to re-watch many times through the years – the recent instance was early this year – and I still find it appealing; that’s why it’s one of my most favorite anime series ever), and as far as I can remember, with these two shows, it was the first time I felt “romantic thrills” (kilig in Filipino terminology).  Both are basically romantic love stories, but what made Georgie superior in my eyes at that point is that it’s not the “fairy tale” kind that Cinderella Monogatari is (btw, a very well-written one at that), but it dares to be complex, crazy, and messy – a surprising departure from the usual idealistic, innocent romance tailored for kids.

'Magic Knight Rayearth' Has the Most Beautiful, Tragic Love Story Since 'Romeo and Juliet'

Growing up in the 90’s, Magic Knight Rayearth was one of the first anime series I followed, and it introduced me to the “magical girls” subgenre and its common tropes (I got to watch it before Sailor Moon).  The anime centers on three eight-grade girls of varying personalities and from different schools who, while on a field trip at Tokyo Tower, are magically taken into the fantasy world of Cephiro.  They learn that they are summoned by Princess Emeraude, the “Pillar” – the sovereign and guardian of Cephiro, who sustains the peace and prosperity of Cephiro by her prayers – and that they are the chosen Magic Knights that would awaken the Rune-Gods and save the gradually deteriorating Cephiro.  In order to do so, they need to rescue Princess Emeraude from her apparent kidnapper, Zagato, the former High Priest to the Pillar.

From his introduction and throughout the story, Zagato is seen as a callous villain who seeks the destruction of Cephiro.  Meanwhile, the Magic Knights believe that they were summoned by Emeraude to defeat Zagato.  Which they were able to do so.  After overcoming his minions, the trio kill him in their final battle.

Then comes the fantastic plot twist that changes everything that was known of the story…

'Lego DC Comics Superheroes: Justice League: Cosmic Clash' Has Brainiac, Time Travel, and a Ton of Fun

I extremely love these Lego DC movies.  They’re animated comedy gems.  Thus, I was excited to watch Lego DC Comics Superheroes: Justice League: Cosmic Clash when I first learned of it.  And as expected, it’s a ton of fun.

In this new installment – something that was actually teased way back in the first movie, 2013’s Lego Batman: The Movie – DC Superheroes Unite.  Brainiac – the Justice League takes on Brainiac, an android supercomputer obsessed with collecting various planets across the galaxies, which he shrinks and put in bottles.  With Earth being his next target, the Justice League proceeds to battle Brainiac, who in turn banishes half of the League roster across different time periods of history.  Now, it’s up to Batman and Flash to recover their time-displaced teammates while Cyborg and Supergirl hold off Brainiac and his forces until the League can reunite.

'Imaginary Cat' Is Much Flawed, but Still Adorable and Funny

What makes Imaginary Cat different from other Koreanovelas I’ve seen at this point is it’s a short series.  It actually has 16 “episodes”, but these are separated among eight episode-installments – two “episodes” in each episode-installment.  So, technically, it’s a short series of eight episodes.

Imaginary Cat centers on Hyun Jong-hyun (played by Yoo Seung-Ho), a talented artist struggling to achieve his dream of becoming a webtoon writer.  While waiting for that big break to come, he works part-time at a bookstore for the time being.  He has a damaged, stubborn personality due to the tragic death of his first love, and being betrayed by another artist who took up their group project and passed it as his own, unfairly making him a successful webtoon writer.  His affection is virtually exclusive for Bok-gil (voiced by Han Ye-ri), a stray cat that he adopted years ago and has become his main source of comforting companionship in his rough life.  His cozy situation with Bok-gil is thrown upside down when he meets a quirky, cat-loving girl named Oh Na-woo (played by Cho Hye-jung).

‘Deadpool’ Is a Perfect Embodiment of the Character’s Quintessence

In a way, it’s somewhat of a miracle that this movie got made.  Ryan Reynolds is a perfect fit to play Marvel’s fan-favorite anti-hero Wade Wilson a.k.a. Deadpool a.k.a. the Merc with a Mouth.  Unfortunately, this spot-on casting was wasted when the first attempt to depict the character on screen was done in the godawful X-Men Origins: Wolverine movie in which it was a horrendous failure.  It’s somewhat rare for a studio to make up for its failures, but thankfully Fox decided to do so, listened to fans, and took another shot in bringing a live-action Deadpool to the big screen – and they nailed it this time!  By boldly opting with an R-rating, a movie that brings justice to the character was made possible.

A Terrific Concept Is Wasted on 'Batman: Bad Blood'

Batman: Bad Blood is the sequel to last year’s Batman vs. Robin, and completes the trilogy that started with Son of Batman.  Here’s what it’s about in a nutshell:

• Bruce Wayne a.k.a. Batman goes missing after saving Batwoman from a group of supervillains led by the enigmatic Heretic.
• Batwoman investigates on Heretic.
• Unsure of whether Bruce is alive or dead, Dick Grayson a.k.a. Nightwing decides to take up the cowl of Batman to fill up the void left in Gotham by Bruce’s absence.
• Damien Wayne a.k.a. Robin cuts his Himalayan sabbatical and returns to Gotham after learning of his father’s disappearance.
• Talia al Ghul is plotting to take over the world which involves the use of mind control, and it’s up to the Bat family to stop her.
• The son of Lucius Fox, Luke Fox, is drawn to the conflict and becomes Batwing.

'Oh My Venus' Is Amply Cute to Make Up for Its By-The-Numbers Flaws

Just finished watching my first Koreanovela this year: Oh My Venus.  It had most of its run during 2015 but its last two episodes were released last January, so I could be flexible about it and qualify it for 2016 TV (It’s my blog anyway; I make the rules. Lol).

Oh My Venus follows the story of a 33-year old lawyer named Kang Joo-eun (Shin Min-a), who used to be a heartthrob during her teenage years, earning her the nickname “Daegu’s Venus.”  However, at present time, she has gained a lot of weight, and is dumped by her boyfriend of 15 years.  She gets a shot at regaining her former glory after a fateful airplane ride lets her meet Kim Young-ho (So Ji-sub), a chaebol heir who happens to be harboring a secret life as “John Kim”, a mysterious and highly sought personal trainer.  Discovering this, Joo-eun obliges Young-ho and his friends to help her lose weight.  As Joo-eun and Young-ho labor for the former’s metamorphosis, they learn to fill each other’s emotional gaps and eventually fall in love.

“Love the Lord with All Your Mind”: A Call to Pursue the Enrichment of Christian Intellect

One of the aspects of modern Christianity that I lament about is the seemingly lack of focus on developing intellect.  It’s as if there’s an unwritten, tacit paradigm that the intellect is irrelevant and irreconcilable with the spiritual.  Thus, many Christians tend to undermine or neglect or even reject the sharpening of the mind, which result to distressingly widespread gullibility, paranoia, and shallow – or, worse, false – theology.

Such Christians have no solid belief foundations, thus, they are easily swayed on what to believe in.  They easily embrace false doctrines (i.e. prosperity gospel, universalism) which they derive a feel-good feeling from, and eagerly adopt and switch to the current hot “Christian” fads – books, preachers, music, teachings – without thoroughly discerning if they are indeed supported by Scriptures.

Such Christians would rather waste time and effort on pursuing and promoting ridiculous conspiracy theories (e.g. “research” that “prove” that the world’s celebrities and elite are Illuminati) and sensationalized, unbiblical prophecies (e.g. the world will end at a particular date) instead of sharing the objective truths of the Gospel.  They burn Harry Potter books because they believe that these encourage children to practice witchcraft.  They share absurd “facts” or links on Facebook without verifying its authenticity (e.g. LOL means Lucifer is Lord).

A common practice among Christians these days is to take a minimalist stand when it comes to theology.  They say, “All that is necessary for me to know as a Christian is that Jesus loves me, I love him, and I want to tell others about him.  That should be enough.”  It sounds noble and humble, but in fact, it’s pretty dangerous.  Such approach eventually leads Christians to be exactly as what I’ve described in the past two paragraphs.  I also have to disagree that that “should be enough” for a Christian.  If we truly love Jesus, we want to represent him and his teachings with thorough Biblical accuracy – cautious and apprehensive that we might dishonor Him in painting our picture of Him to others.  Furthermore, according to the so-called “love chapter”, i.e. 1 Corinthians 13, an aspect of love is that it rejoices with the truth (v.6).  Hence, if we truly love Jesus, we should then sincerely pursue having a deeper understanding of His Truth and upholding it.

Furthermore, the Greatest Commandment (Matt. 22:37-38) says, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.”  It means that it’s essential for us Christians to love God with the utmost full extent of our being, and this includes utilizing the best of our minds.

Thus, I believe that the development of intellect is something important for Christians.  Now, I’m not saying it’s the most integral thing.  Of course, no matter how intelligent one is, without the Holy Spirit’s active revelation, discovering truth and obtaining wisdom are impossible.  But it’s nevertheless important for a Christian to make the effort of thinking with the best of his or her capability, and to be consistent and logical in his or her beliefs.