Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter Movie Review

So today I finally got to see Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter after seeing a very tempting and exciting trailer. The movie is based on the novel of the same name written by Seth Grahame-Smith. There are, of course, noticeable differences between the book and movie but I believe having these differences adds to the excitement of unpredictability. 

The movie follows the story of a young Abraham Lincoln and how he first comes into contact with vampires. He then starts leading a double life where at night, he has a secret identity as a vampire hunter, trained by a very calm mysterious man named Henry Sturges (Dominic Cooper). Throughout the movie, you can hear Lincoln narrate parts of his diary. 

Author Seth Grahame-Smith was hired to write the movie's script and the movie was produced by Tim Burton, Timur Bekmambetov and Jim Lemly. 

Benjamin Walker portrayed the 16th President of The United States and I have to say he did quite an excellent job. Although you might feel that Walker does not really resemble the late president physically but you do feel as if you are watching the true Abraham Lincoln speak to the citizens of The United States. You might think you are seeing some familiar faces as well and that is because you are, you'll find Mary Elizabeth Winstead (Scott Pilgrim vs. the World) and Dominic Cooper (Captain America: The First Avenger). All the actors did their roles beautifully, there were no bad performances. 

The movie felt like a breath of fresh air; with so many vampire movies being released, it's very overwhelming and you just find yourself bored with the lot of it. A president killing vampires? I could not believe it at first but when I saw the trailer I just felt a rush of excitement. It was a very exciting different side to Abraham Lincoln. However, it's one of those movies not to be taken too seriously, its sole purpose is to entertain and entertained I was. Not to mention it's historically accurate as well, a great treat for history buffs. 

Although it gives off an action-y movie feel, the fighting scenes were not that many but very well executed nonetheless. There's a lot of slashing, blood and gore which I loved and I think any gore lover will. The 3D lets you truly experience all the blood and explosions and made it even more enjoyable.

The script could have been better but it doesn't bother you that much, at least I wasn't since I never got to read the book.  Most of the movie was created by special effects and they looked quite admirable but I would have preferred if some real locations were used. However, you must keep in mind that some parts of the story might not seem plausible or real like the horse stampede scene, but you know it's a vampire movie so you just think "Oh what the hell, it's awesome anyway".

All in all, it's a great fun movie to go see if you love vampires and gore but not so much if you want something realistic, I don't think it was meant to be that way. I would give it a 7/10 for making me enjoy every minute of the movie and not letting me get bored. It was a great change from typical vampire movies and that's what made me really like it, it could have been better but it did not disappoint me. 

How would YOU react to cyber bullying?

To be honest, I never thought about what would happen to me if I was ever cyber bullied. Maybe it's because I never gave anyone the chance to do so. I always read different and sometimes horrifying stories of countless victims of cyber bullying. The stories are heart breaking. When you read that young kids actually commit suicide because of something like that, when you see that a 15 year old girl threw herself in front of a fucking bus just to escape the horror of it all, it just makes you wonder: what have people become?

Are people so desperate to feel empowered and superior that they have to make someone's life a living hell? Are they insecure? Were they bully victims themselves? You might find yourself asking even more questions such as those but the saddening truth is that sometimes you may never know the answer. To my utter astonishment and disgust, it occurred to me that some people actually enjoy torturing someone on the internet. Maybe it's the fact that they think they're never going to get caught. However, I still fail at seeing the whole point of this. So I make a cruel joke or be mean to someone online, what have I gained? I'm not even there to "enjoy" their suffering. 

To me, cyber bullying is even more serious than the regular big bad school bully. Because yes, that person may never get caught and the fact that the internet is a totally free entity that cannot be controlled, so basically there's nothing you can do.  I mean there is but it's not like you can completely stop it. People always tell bully victims to ignore bullies or go talk to someone about it, which they don't since they feel like they're ratting someone out. At this point, I personally wouldn't give two shits if I rat someone out; you give me hell, I'll give you hell times a hundred regardless of how I do so!

So recently, a very famous blogger, Xiaxue, got trashed on Facebook (along with 2 of her friends) for being PAP supporters (a political party in Singapore). They were called the most horrid names and it just sickened me as I read her post. Men were calling them sluts, whores, prostitutes among other things, even though one of her friends isn't even a PAP supporter. Now being a well known blogger on the internet for years breeds haters (doesn't everything?) and Xiaxue  has a lot of them and she rarely even gives it thought. However, she decided she had enough and decided to stand up and defend herself and her friends. 

Xiaxue made a post listing the men with the most, you might say, provocative comments along with their photos which some included family members and/or their children. Let me just point out that the photos she listed were not acquired in any sly manner such as hacking or anything of the sort but the photos' privacy settings were simply set to public so anyone could seem them. She even censored some the faces appearing with the men in the photos. After each photo she would respond to what was commented. (You can see both posts here and here.)

You may not agree with the way she responded to those bullies but let's be honest, it should be expected that some of the bully victims would retaliate, it's like a ticking time bomb. If bullies think that their victims are just helpless fish in a barrel, one of these fish tends be a shark and will snap back. And that's what happened with Xiaxue, not only was she insulted but her own family and husband as well. As she put it, it's one thing if bullies mess with her but it's another if someone insults her family and I think all of us would agree at this point. 

Imagine this little scenario, even if bullies don't affect you and you just don't care but what if your girlfriend/wife/sister/daughter was getting bullied, you wouldn't just sit there now, would you? No one likes having one of his loved ones being trampled on. I don't know if I would do what Xiaxue did but I do know that I would've taken action and not just sit there idly.

On Fairy Tail

I haven't watched anime in a really long time and maybe it's just that I got bored of everything. After Gintama was done, I felt like there was an emptiness which I didn't know how was going to be filled (sad but true). Then I remembered that a couple of years ago, I started watching Fairy Tail but only got to the 14th episode or so. And so, I decided to watch it again from the very beginning to remember all past events and I'm glad that I did. Not only have I discovered that I pretty much forgot everything that has happened but also that there's something different about it this time.

It has been argued that Fairy Tail is pretty much about nothing except the main characters powering up or whatever but I beg to differ. I don't want to to ruin it for anyone who is currently watching or planning to watch it but there is a point to the anime. However, even if there wasn't any point to it, I would still watch and recommend it. The Japanese culture is very family oriented and establishing good relationships with everyone around you is of vital importance and that's exactly what anime tries to get across, stressing on values such as the importance of family and friends, and to always be in search of your dreams and never give up. Things such as this make anime worth watching even if there is no specific goal for it. 

From left to right: Natsu, Gray, Erza and Lucy.

As for Fairy Tail, I have to admit that I haven't watched anything this exciting since Gintama stopped airing. For you who don't know what Fairy Tail is about, the story takes place in the kingdom of Fiore where magic is a common practice. Seventeen year old Lucy runs away from home to join the rambunctious wizard's guild Fairy Tail and happens to run into one of the guild's members, Natsu.

The first season doesn't seem to be all that interesting regarding the story line and the animation is average, but as the story progresses, both the animation and story get better and the anime gets closer to the manga. However, I got hooked from the first arc and the fillers are actually worth watching (I watched all 134 episodes so far in a week). I find myself getting really into it emotionally and I feel all the suspense in all the serious moments of the anime. 

I happen to like the soundtrack from the very start and although some themes are common and get replayed in different versions, they're still as enjoyable to listen to. The sad scores are used very well, in the right moments and it adds a lot of more emotion to sad scenes that just make you feel like tearing up (I cried a few times). To me, the soundtrack makes or breaks the series. 

What I really like about this anime is the characters; they're all very well thought out and they have very unique personalities that make it hard to choose a favorite. Each character has his/her own quirkiness with a funny/known catch phrase and comedic antics. Also, you don't feel like one character is hogging the whole show but a number of characters get good screen time. The bonds of trust and friendship between characters is highly commendable and it just makes me feel all warm and fuzzy on the inside. 

All in all, it's a spectacular anime with a lot of laughs, tears and suspense and I definitely do recommend it to all anime fans. 

On New Music

Recently, all I've been listening to is instrumental music, whether it's instrumental rock, orchestra or even soundtracks. 

First band I'm really into right now is Leech. I've never heard of them before until today and I have to say I'm in awe! The band is amazing! Their style reminded me of God is an Astronaut, which is another very talented  instrumental rock band. 

Another great instrumental band is Long Distance Calling. They haven't been around for long (starting 2006) but they're also into the post rock genre. This is actually a cover they did of a really old movie called The Loneliness of a Long Distance Runner which is just spectacular!

I have nothing to say about this except it's totally badass! Most people don't realize how good anime scores are. I recommend checking them out even if you're not into anime.