What’s Up Week 14: And the second quarter of 2019 begins

As we enter into the second quarter of 2019, things are finally seeming to get some balance as nothing seems to be too skewed to one category, which is how I’d like for this segment to go (but I know its only a rarity). Either way, I don’t deliberately do anything so it was all a relatively fun week.

READING

• Obsidio (The Illuminae Files #3) Review
• Fables Vol.2 Animal Farm

Currently reading: The Collection of Negatives

The Illuminae Files did not disappoint and actually its made me crave for some more sci-fi reading adventures (although I usually end up regretting it afterwards). Its the format and structure of this one that really works for me. Of course, I’m falling behind in the Goodreads Reading challenge with 8 books completed out of 40 (2 books behind..although one of the selections had 4 books together..so am I still behind?). I am also working on some of the other little things sitting around like graphic novels and such, which leads me to Fables Volume 2 Animal Farm. I like the Fables thing especially with Telltale Games The Wolf Among Us that really worked for me, sadly with the company’s shutdown, the sequel isn’t happening. Maybe some other company will pick up on the idea and adapt some game in that realm, we never know, right?

PLAYING

Currently playing: Omnicube, FutureGrind

Back to some previous titles that I put down and forgot to get back to. Surprisingly fun with company rather than solo even if these are single player games. They are more indie titles  and things that take priority. The first is a puzzle game called Omnicube which is about shifting colored boxes into their colored portals. It got pretty challenging after a while. As for FutureGrind, its a fun little arcade game where its a bit like Trials but with a two wheel bike that you have to rotate to go on the right colored rails. It sounds easy but things get a little harder. Both of them have a back story to it. Either way, I’ll be getting those playthroughs up on the channel soon :). I’ll be gaming more to build up some backlog for the second half of April when things get too hectic to even think about gaming, let alone editing.

WATCHING

• The 5th Wave
• Gods of Egypt
• The Incredible Hulk
• Ouija

My double feature segment may be in order but I don’t always follow the order when watching it, mostly because my husband wouldn’t watch some of those movies with me so I bumped them backwards. Among a bunch of not so good movies (notice the pattern yet?), the standout this week has to go to The Incredible Hulk. I had the initial ambition of doing my own little Marvel marathon until I realized that I only had Phase 1 films from MCU and then Netflix pulled a lot of the older ones and I wasn’t going to rent or buy them so I quickly dismissed that idea. Anyways, I finally caught up with The Incredible Hulk which was the only Phase 1 movie that I hadn’t seen so now to catch up with the newer titles, starting with Spiderman Homecoming next in line.

BINGING

• On My Block (Season 2, 2019) Review

Currently binging: The Brightest Star in the Sky, The Singer 2019, Mr. Swimmer, Great Escape, The Legend of White Snake, Viva La Romance (Season 2), Master in the House

TV series is going to be the death of me. So many new ones, variety and drama, and they were all on my radar and came out at the same time. The Singer 2019 is hitting its finals so that is going to end soon and I’m still taking a break from Mr. Swimmer (probably will until I get another 4 more TV binges done to thin out the backlog more) however keeping it here so I don’t forget to finish it up. The issue with Great Escape and Viva La Romance Season 2 is that they are only able to watch full episodes on Mango TV app and that app isn’t compatible to Chromecast so its a pain to watch on the phone so I only watch it certain times of the day. My guess is Master in the House is going to be the same way as it seems Mango TV is taking this new approach probably to maximize their profits from their own app and not benefit YouTube. I get where they are coming from but its just inconvenient. With that out of the way, my fave series right now is The Brightest Star in the Sky and The Legend of White Snake which is currently streaming on Tencent app.

That’s it for this What’s Up!
The starts of the 2nd quarter has been pretty good!

What have you been watching/playing/reading/binging?

What’s Up 2019: Week 5 Valentine’s Marathon Begins!

Week 5 is heavy on movies. Valentine’s Marathon was announced and right away, the movie section is full and packed yet again, perhaps to make up for the lack thereof of last week. At the same time, everything else is progressing forward as well, except for playing which still has some space to do more of.

READING

• The Girl From Everywhere by Heidi Heilig

Currently reading: One Flew Through the Dragon Heart (Favan & Flew #1)

Finished off The Girl From Everywhere right at the end of the week. Its pretty good. Its not a romance but more of an adventure and the fantasy element of time travel through sailing with maps drawn at whichever time and whichever world. Its an interesting concept and premise. The characters itself are also quite fun with mentorship, family and love all put into the equation here. The story takes a little bit to build up but in the final third of the movie, it takes quite a nice turn of events. With that said, i literally started very little of One Flew Through the Dragon Heart which is for an upcoming blog tour.

PLAYING

Currently playing: FutureGrind

I’ve taken a break from everything else and mostly took time to watch movies and TV series so gaming took a backseat as I still have a lot of editing in limbo after the work deadline ended. The only game I started was recent release of FutureGrind which is interesting to say the least. It has some comparisons to something like Trials but then it has its sci-fi factors as well. I’m only 10% in so I’m sure there is still lots to discover in the game.

WATCHING

• All I See Is You (Review)
• The Big Wedding (Review)
• Candy Jar (Review)
• Don’t Go Breaking My Heart (Review)
• Endless Love (2014) (Review)
• Hellboy
• Hellboy 2: The Golden Army
• Forever My Girl (Review)

Valentine’s Marathon is finally upon us for the first 14 days of February. Working on double feature means romance films are completely top priority. I started it later than I expected so the backlog is non-existent. However, in between that, I managed to get through Hellboy and Hellboy 2 for Movies and Tea as that is our next episode to review in the next recording. Out of these, Hellboy 2 is one of the better films however if it was for the romance film choices, I’d go with Don’t Go Breaking My Heart. Its fun and charming and full of some great roles played by very competent cast.

BINGING

• Fated to Love You (Taiwan, 2008)

Currently watching: The Singer 2019, My Little One (Season 2)

After some fast and fun binging, I finished up Fated to Love You, otherwise called You’re My Destiny on Netflix. Remember this is the Taiwan version which is the first version released before a bunch of other ones were done. Its super charming to watch and reminded me of the traits of Taiwanese series which makes the second/supporting male lead the perfect man who never gets chosen by the female lead who also likes the flawed first male who has room to grow and develop. There is so much to love about Fated to Love You. I’m hoping to get this TV binge up during this Valentine’s marathon but I’ve been on a writer’s block writing up TV binges so hopefully I get out of it soon. I am still having incredible joy from The Singer 2019 and My Little One.

Overall, as with any marathon month, its a huge focus on movies.
I might make February focused on Romance films to finish up the alphabet because I won’t finish it in the 14 days for sure.
That’s it for this What’s Up!
What are you reading/watching/playing/binging?