Baby Groot

I've been wanting to watch Guardians of the Galaxy since I saw the trailer when it was just released. As some of you may know, I love my cute animals so how could I possibly not want to watch a hilarious animated raccoon right? Of course, it's also part of the Marvel franchise and with the way Marvel films have been going at the moment, it's very hard for this film to be a letdown. What I did not expect, however, was to be shown this cute scene at the end of the movie:

Isn't it so darn cute? I think Groot has to be my new favourite Marvel series character! I guess this will have to be added to my Christmas Wish List too!

Baby Groot Figurine

=] What do you think of Baby Groot? Would you want one in your room?

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Tiny x

Ask Tiny! - My Top 10 Asian Dramas

I remember the majority of my high school evenings was hiding under my duvet watching asian dramas. They are so addictive and some of the plots are so interesting, it's very hard to watch one episode without finishing the whole series in one day. Below are some of my favourite ones that I've watched over the years, and only includes dramas as reality and game shows can be covered in another blog post. These dramas that I have listed are some that I can watch and re-watch again, and I've fallen in love with them over the years.

10. Knock Knock Loving You/Quietly Falling in Love with You - Taiwan

Top Left-Right: Maggie Wu, Dylan Kuo, Ming Dao

This is a less well known drama, but still pretty interesting if you can get through the first few episodes. It is based around the main lead's (Dylan Kuo) family going bankrupt and him trying to rebuild it by teaming up with his rival (Maggie Wu), who appears ruthless but is actually very vulnerable. As he realises he is falling in love with her, another business man (Ming Dao) also fights for her hand in marriage. All-in-all, it's a very cute love story.

9. Fated to Love You - Taiwan

Chen Qiao En, Ethan Ruan

I originally heard very high reviews about this but never got around to watching it until a family friend bought me the DVD. I have to say, I regret not watching this earlier. It's romantic, funny and heartbreaking at the same time. Chen Qiao En accidentally sleeps with Ethan Ruan and becomes pregnant, and this drama follows the two strangers learning about each other as well as slowly falling in love with one another.

8. Hana Yori Dango/Boys Before Flowers - Japan

F4, with Matsumoto Jun & Inoue Mao in the centre

You can't have a top asian drama list without Hana Yori Dango. This is a classic, and has been redone several times, but the Japanese one is still my favourite. The story follows Inoue Mao, the poorest student in an elite school, who was forced to pick a fight with Matsumoto Jun in order to defend her friend. This causes her to be bullied by the whole school at first, but Matsumoto Jun slowly falls in love with her tough character. But they have to overcome the many obstacles Matsumoto Jun's mother throws at them first!

7. Goong/Princess Hours - Korea

Joo Ji Hoon, Song Ji Hyo, Yoon Eun Hye, Kim Jung Hoon

Another classic based around a fictional timeline where Korea still has an imperial family. Due to a pact between two grandfathers, Yoon Eun Hye and Joo Ji Hoon find themselves engaged to each other. Yoon Eun Hye, who is originally from a poorer family, struggles to adjust to palace life. With the return of Joo Ji Hoon's half brother, who was originally supposed to be Yoon Eun Hye's fiance, fighting for Yoon Eun Hye's hand, will this royal marriage go to plan?

6. Witch Yoo Hee/Witch Amusement - Korea

Jun Hye Bin, Kim Jung Hoon, Han Ga In, Jae Hee, Dennis Oh

This is a very funny drama which revolves around the transformation of Han Ga In. She is the CEO of an advertising company, and is at first ruthless. However, after hiring Jae Hee as her housekeeper, we slowly see her change into a softer, more vulnerable, character. With her makeup, Jae Hee also finds love rivals in Han Ga In's first love and her old friend Dennis Oh.

5. Dream High - Korea

Kim Soo Hyun, Ham Eun Jung, Bae Suzy, Taecyeon, IU, Wooyoung

This is probably one of the best high school/music based drama, and there are some moments which literally make you laugh out loud. You follow Suzy, who joins Kirin Art School to pay off her father's debts, and the other high school students trying to achieve their dreams of becoming K-Pop stars.

4. Cinderella's Sister - Korea

Chun Jung Myung, Moon Geun Young, Taecyeon, Seo Woo

A modern retelling of Cinderella, where Moon Geun Young's mother married Seo Woo's father, which makes them step sisters. Although Moon Geun Young grows to love her new stepsister, her dark past prevents her from bonding with her properly. After Seo Woo's father passes away, she finds out her stepmother's previous affection was all for show, and vows revenge on her stepsister and stepmother.

3. You're Beautiful - Korea

A.N.Jell

Park Shin Hye joins boy band A.N.Jell in the place of her twin brother who is recovering from surgery in America. Will she be able to conceal her true identity from the boys and rivals? I love this drama, it's so funny, and has some of the most memorable scenes in drama history. I also love the OST, which is a mixture of acoustic and rock. Definitely worth watching & rewatching again!

2. Schemes of a Beauty - China

Sammul Chan, Ruby Lin

This has to be one of the best historical Chinese dramas I've ever seen. It follows Ruby Lin, who enters the imperial palace and slowly climbs her way to become Empress. However, her childhood friend who mistakenly blames Ruby Lin for several unfortunate events becomes her arch rival, also trying to win the affection of the Emperor. On top of this, she has 2 mother in laws to go through too! It's a beautiful drama, and I would highly recommend you to watch this if you enjoy period dramas.

1. Autumn's Concerto - Taiwan

Vanness Wu, Ady An

No matter how many dramas I watch, this one stands out above the rest. It is the most beautiful love story I have seen in asian dramas, and I was laughing one minute and crying the next. I would suggest a huge tissue box for this, trust me you will need it. Ady An and Vanness Wu were university sweethearts, but unfortunately due to a nasty accident where Vanness Wu was stabbed and had to go through brain surgery, he forgets about Ady An. Ady was also forced to leave by Vanness' mother, but she didn't realise she was pregnant until after she leaves. After 6 years, Vanness and Ady's paths cross, and although he doesn't recognise her, he can't ignore the mother and son who appear to be so familiar. But with a fiance of his own, and a mother who's deadly against the two getting together, will they have the happy ending they deserve? Guess you'll have to watch it to find out :)

Do you like asian dramas? Which one would you put as your number 1?

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Tiny x

Ouija (2014) - Movie Review (Spoilers)

My boyfriend and I recently watched Ouija after seeing it being advertised so heavily pretty much everywhere in London. I only saw the promotional posters before watching this movie, and didn't watch the trailer or read anything about it online. My initial impression was that this movie would be based around Ouija boards and spiritual entities, and hopefully scary!

Ouija Poster

The opening of the movie was definitely promising, with the lead character, Laine (Olivia Cooke, The Quiet Ones) and friend Debbie (Shelley Hennig, The Secret Circle) playing with a Ouija board as children. We then fast forward to present day where Debbie is playing with the Ouija board by herself but strange things occur and she tried to burn the board and planchette. She calls Laine over to her house, but even though obviously distressed, she turns Laine away. As soon as she steps into the house, she hears noises and the cooker turns on by itself. Debbie then goes to her room, where she finds the board and planchette. As she picks up the planchette and looks through the eyehole, her eyes turn white and as if possessed, drags the fairy lights in her room and hangs herself with it.

When Laine and friends hear about this event, they decide to use Laine's Ouija board to try and reach out to her. As Laine is the housekeeper whilst Debbie's parents are away, they decide to do this in the house. A spirit, who they think is Debbie, spells out 'Hi Friend' before the lights go out. Unnerved, the group decides to leave, but the 'Hi Friend' message follows them and they decide to go back to Debbie's house to reach out to Debbie again. This time, they find out the spirit they were communicating with was never Debbie, but instead someone with initials DZ. Laine looks through the planchette to see a little girl with her mouth stitched shut, who quickly warns them to run as 'Mother' is coming.

After one person in the group is killed, Laine decides to find out who DZ is. They venture into the attic, where Debbie originally found the Ouija board. Inside, Laine identifies DZ as Doris, a little girl who went missing. After visiting Doris' sister (Lin Shaye, Insidious) in a mental institute, Laine discovers that Doris' mother delved into communication with spirits, and used Doris as a channel. She eventually sewed Doris' mouth shut to end the spirits channeling themselves through Doris. Doris' sister convinced Laine that in order to stop the mother's spirit from murdering more of the group, Laine must cut the threads keeping Doris' mouth shut and hope that Doris can defeat her mother.

Laine and friends return to the house again, and after a brief battle with 'Mother', Laine finds Doris' corpse and succeeds in cutting the threads. Unfortunately, Pete, Debbie's boyfriend is later killed. Laine confronts Doris' sister, only to find that 'Mother' was trying to protect them, and that Doris and her sister were the evil ones. After consulting Laine's grandmother, they come to the conclusion that they must burn Doris' corpse. Eventually, they achieve this with the help of Debbie's spirit, although only Laine and her sister survived. The film ends with the sisters going home, only to find the planchette in Laine's room.

Overall, the movie was ok. The beginning was the highlight of the whole movie, but disappoints increasingly fast after the death of Debbie as it revolves its plotline in an already saturated spiritual haunting market. Apart from the odd jump scares, nothing really creeps you out in this movie. Even the parts where characters are having their mouths sewn shut by spirits is, well, meh. It's definitely a one time see, and not for horror seekers.

Rating: 3/10

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Tiny

The Legend of Korra - Does it Live Up to Aang?

Yesterday I was looking for anime to watch, and stumbled upon The Legend of Korra. I had started this back when it originally aired, but due to work and weak internet connection, I stopped after the first 5 episodes. Although I found it to be interesting at the time, the time between the broadcasts slowly dimmed my interest in Korra. This time, however, all three seasons had been completed and I could watch all episodes continuously, which I thought was better as you're not confused by the following episode.

Korra is basically the next reincarnation of Aang. She was born in the Southern Water Tribe and has a polar bear as a pet. The first season basically introduces her, and follows her through her adventures in Republic City, the new united city founded by Aang. Having mastered fire, water and earth, she undergoes airbending training with Aang's son Tenzin. She also meets her companions throughout the next 2 seasons, brothers Mako & Bolin, as well as Asami. The main plotline in season 1 revolves around the dispute between benders and non-benders, with a pro-non-bending activist called Aman allegedly being able to take one's bending ability away. He is the main antagonist Korra and gang must face in order to restore peace back to Republic City.

Season 2 was a lot more interesting, delving more into the spirit world with a Miyakazi-like influence. We also learn more about the first avatar, Wan, and how he acquired the powers of the avatar. Every 10,000 years, the spirit of light (Raava) and the spirit of darkness (Vaatu) fight to determine who will rule the earth for the next 10,000 years. Wan fused with Raava to defeat Vaatu, trapping him in the time tree in the spirit world. Wan also closed the portals to the spirit world to prevent Vaatu from escaping. However, Korra who did not know about Wan's history, and being manipulated by her uncle, opened one portal thinking she was mending the relationship between spirits and humans. Eventually her uncle fused with Vaatu, but Korra was able to defeat them, and left the portals open so spirits and humans could freely roam each other's worlds.

Season 3 explores the consequences of spirits co-existing with humans, as in the very first episode we see Korra attempting to rid Republic City of huge overgrown vines throughout the city. The aftereffects of the defeat of Vaatu and keeping the spirit portals open means random people were also gaining the ability to airbend, balancing the four elements. Korra and gang travel the world to find these airbenders so they can learn and train with Tenzin, and eventually recreate the Air nation. On the way, she also encounters the Red Lotus group, who are intent on killing all higher powers and the avatar to achieve 'true' freedom. Korra was able to defeat them and save the new Air nation.

Overall, the Legend of Korra was good. The first season was relatively weak compared to the following two, but did improve with time. I particularly liked the fight scenes in season 2 and season 3, and I would say season 2 was my favourite. The artwork was beautiful and it was definitely interesting to learn about how the avatar became the avatar. You really feel like you were transported to a 'Spirited Away' world in this season. It was also nice to see how Aang's generation grew up, and how their families turned out. I would also say the plotlines for all three seasons were interesting and well written, and the artwork was spectacular.

What I didn't enjoy was the constant love triangle between Korra, Mako and Asami. This dragged on and on throughout the series, and was seriously boring. Mako has to be the most indecisive douche-bag in the whole of the Avatar series. It also seems a bit odd (spoilers alert) that Korra was able to defeat the spirit of darkness but had trouble with the Red Lotus group. It was also a bit unbelievable how the leader of the Red Lotus, who was able to airbend after the spirit portals were open, could master airbending to a level above Tenzin, who trained with Aang and has had much more experience and training...hmmm....

I would say the Legend of Aang was better, but Korra isn't bad either. The way they explored how bending existed in more modern settings was definitely innovative and exciting to watch. I look forward to how they will wrap Korra up with the new season coming this October.

Rating: 7/10

Tiny

Doctor Who - Season 8, Episode 1 Review (SPOILERS)

I debated on whether to watch this season from the moment Matt Smith regenerated into Peter Capaldi. I really enjoyed the Matt Smith, Amy & Rory trio, and since then (for me anyways) waiting for the new episode of Doctor Who hasn't been as exciting as back then. Not to say Jenna Coleman (Clara) is a bad actress, in fact I think she's doing a damn good job, but because the trio was just much better in my opinion. Of course, like the majority, I was also a bit wary about Peter Capaldi playing the Doctor.

So, on to the episode! With the beginning of the episode kicking off with a huge T-Rex, it's hard to keep you eyes away from the TV. Immediately, you are wondering why this T-Rex has ended up in the streets of Victorian London. In this episode, we are also reintroduced to Madame Vastra, Jenny and Strax, and I was actually more interested in their screen time than Clara and the Doctors. Unfortunately, for me, this episode was pretty boring. Not even the half machine, half human antagonists could keep me interested for long. It seems like Peter Capaldi and Jenna Coleman are still getting used to their parts, and to be honest, the chemistry was a bit off as well. We are also introduced to a less likeable Doctor, who abandons his companions and is frustrating to be around. I think they were trying to explore a darker side to the Doctor by revealing that he has his bad sides as well, but to have a darker character compared to a dislikeable character is two totally different things. This Doctor is not likeable, and viewers can't relate to him, and at the end of the day if a character is not liked, it's hard to get ratings up.

The only bit I enjoyed was the ending, where we are introduced to Missy, who I'm guessing is our newest antagonist. It seems that when a character dies, they all end up in what Missy likes to call 'heaven'. Whether this really is the case, we still have to keep our eyes peeled to the weekly showings to find out. Someone mentioned on Buzzfeed also noticed the similarities between this 'heaven' and the episode where Amy is abandoned and grows old (Buzzfeed Article, Breaking Down This Episode), hmmmmm... I also loved the fact that Matt Smith was featured in this episode, despite his short appearance, it was greatly appreciated. His phone call to Clara also seemed like a message to the fans, telling them to be patient with Peter Capaldi's Doctor and to give him a chance before judging.

All-in-all, I was a bit disappointed with this episode. However, since it is the first one, I will try my luck with the next few and see. If anything, I will watch all of the episode just to see who this Missy person is, as in my opinion, her character and story arc is the most interesting.

Rating: 5/10

Tiny

Puzzle and Dragon

I was introduced to this game by my boyfriend, who was completely and utterly obsessed with it. I wanted to know what the hype was all about, so I downloaded it too (Japanese version) and boy did I get addicted to it too.

Puzzle & Dragon Main Page

It is essentially a puzzle game, where you have to create combos with similar elements. In order to progress, you have to complete a series of stages and levels, and you can recruit friends to fight alongside you too. Everytime you complete a stage, you receive a magic stone which allows you to use the Rare Egg Machine where you can get rare powerful characters to use. You can also collect "Pal Points" when you either recruit a friend or they recruit you which allows you to use the Pal Egg Machine where you can get materials to power up your characters.

Gameplay Visuals

The main attraction of this game is that Puzzle & Dragon frequently partner up with major Japanese brands. In the past they have had collaborations with Dragon Ball, Hello Kitty, and various anime series. There are also talks of a new Sailor Moon collaboration which I'm looking forward to. Every once in a while, you will also have God Fests, where the ratio to receive Gods is increased greatly.

I really enjoy this game, and it's been a number 1 app in iTunes Japan and UK for a few months now. If you enjoy games like Candy Crush, but with an anime twist on it, you should definitely check out Puzzle & Dragons. I'm currently playing the Japanese version, however there are also different versions for different countries e.g. EU, UK & USA. Currently, in the UK version, there is a Batman collaboration, which I'm sure all you DC Comics fans will enjoy.

My Box:

Rating: 10/10

Tiny