Movie Review: Knives Out!

Hello everyone! So today, we are gonna go a little bit laid back and we're gonna talk about movies!

There are too many good movies in 2019 that I rate more than 6/10. For me, a great movie is a movie that moves you, anticipates you, makes you feel as if you are close to the characters and makes you emotional. Few of my favorite movies from 2019 are:

1) Avengers: Endgame (I am a big MCU fan!)
2) Once Upon a Time in Hollywood
3) Joker
4) Spider-man Far From Home
5) Toy Story 4
6) Aladdin
7) KNIVES OUT!

So today, I am gonna review Knives Out!

!!SPOILER AHEAD!!

I will not reveal the characters or important plot points or plot devices. I will only just write about the storyline. However, it may give out something if you don't like spoilers.

I only watched the Knives Out trailer twice before I decided to watch the movie. The selling point for me was Daniel Craig (I like his Bond series) and Chris Evans. I am also excited to watch Katherine Langford since I am a fan of 13 Reasons Why. When I watch the trailer, it gives me some kind of Kingsman vibe and I love Kingsman too so I decided to watch it.

I have an idea that this movie is about murder mystery. It's a detective movie so I'm ready to be extra focused so I can follow the movie and make a guess. Whenever I watch a movie, I always pretend like I'm in a race with the character to figure out the ending. Besides, I am a fan of detective movies too. And it's not too dark because it's also a comedy. At this point, I am very eager to watch the
movie.

!! SPOILERS !!

It subverted my impression of course! So obviously a detective movie will have interrogation scenes but you'll be sitting there at first, thinking that you have to be laser-focused because you'd want to figure out who's the culprit. And then you'll start to second-guess every character and build your own assumption for each character. The mistake is that you'll realize that you're watching this movie and expecting your guesses to be true that you're missing the other clues!

Why I say it's subverting? Because surprisingly, it's not a 'whodunnit' movie! Instead, it's a trail of Detective Benoit Blanc that you're following. During the first half of the movie, the writers have already spoonfed you with the actual crime that happened, the murderer is revealed to you and it builds empathy towards the character that you confuse whether you should root Det. Blanc or the murderer.

I'm cut in half! The portrayal of the murderer and the motives behind the murder is very pure to the point that I almost never wanted Det. Blanc to figure out. At this point, I am so ready just to see how Det. Blanc can pinpoint the murderer as he/she is also very sneaky. The relationship played by both characters confused you more!

The movie introduces you to ALL characters very early in the movie. This movie is brilliant in terms of casting because they have all the famous and talented actors for the characters. The brilliance is, imagine if Daniel Craig and Chris Evans were the only actors you know, psychologically, you're made to believe that Chris might be the murderer because Craig is already the detective. But then they have Jamie Lee Curtis, Ana de Armas and Katherine Langford, now you'll think that any one of them could be an important character, that's why they're hired!

So remember when I said that the crime was already revealed? Entering the second half of the movie, you'll be more surprised and confused as to why some scenes happen. You'll start questioning the motive of the characters once again, even if you already knew the murderer. At first, I was stuck. But then I watched closely and I caught the culprit very close to the actual reveal.

The reveal was that the criminal was not totally a criminal!

For me, it was mindblowing. I rated it 10/10. I really don't find any obvious plot holes. Mind you that I have a habit of reading boards on IMDb and Reddit after watch just to see what other people are saying. I do have questions after the movie ended but so far, you can find answers to them meaning there is no plot holes.

I would also say that Rian Johnson is brilliant. I was very sure that this story was only about the personality of this detective in his pursuit to solve a crime. You already know the criminal, what's left is just paying attention to how the detective figure it out. But then you sympathize with the criminal and suddenly there's a third person.

I have to give praise to the way the crime is done. It's really clever and it's kind of not what you could come up with without clues.

Director: Rian Johnson. At first you'll think you'll get something like The Last Jedi but then you get this.

Stars: Daniel Craig, Chris Evans, Jamie Lee Curtis, Ana de Armas (i heard she's the new Bond girl?), Katherine Langford

About: Whodunnit, murder mystery, comedy

My rating: 10/10

More fun reads: IMDb / Reddit

*if you watch this movie after this review, tell me what you think!


Thank you for reading this entry :D

Photos credit: IMDb

Digital Note-Taking 101 Using OneNote

Hello peeps! It is new year how are you feeling? Well, for me it's the end of the semester but for others it maybe a new school year so let's talk academic *HAHA*.

I am always the one who writes notes in class ever since I was in boarding school. I write notes ranging from the simplest scribble to the most structured, color-coded, cornell style note taking. I have ventured into many note taking styles. In 2017, I have tried a new note taking style which is digitally after seeing many of my favorite studyblrs and studygrams using the technique. Since I had the experience, I would like to share about it with all of you! Let's dive in into digital note-taking 101!

#1 What do I need? 
Well since it is digital, you will need a PC or an iPad or any tablet will work as well. Some people use stylus but it's really up to your preference. I only use a laptop and my phone.

You will need to install OneNote on your computer but beforehand, you might want to check because if I am not mistaken, it came built-in with any Windows PC. It is also available on Google Play Store and App Store.

OneNote

#2 Why OneNote?
It is FREE! Of course some people would not mind investing money into new software but for me, OneNote is perfect for notetaking be it complex or minimal. Furthermore, OneNote syncs across devices so you can access them on your phone too in case you need to do some cramming or last minute study before entering the hall!

#3 Who will like OneNote?
People who likes note-taking but wants to migrate to digital form of it. This also includes people who prefers typing over writing and the flexibility to correct typos or drawings. OneNote is also not limited to only texts but you can also draw with the tools. You will also like it if you want a structured note-taking layout.

#1 Its toolbar is very similar to Microsoft Word
Every day in our lives, we will have to use Word for whatever reason. But the problem with Word is that is not easily accessible across many devices. That's where OneNote come into action. As you can see in the toolbar, it looks very familiar, making it less intimidating for first time users. Some of Word hotkeys such as CTRL+C, CTRL+V, CTRL+B and more can also be used in OneNote.

Credit: https://www.guidingtech.com/onenote-pdf-tips-tricks/

#2 You can include online videos, links, audios and many more onto it
OneNote also allows you to upload PDFs and annotate it on the software. This way, you can make notes that is on the same page as your PDF! You can also record lectures and save it into your document which you can listen to later and rewrite your notes!

#3 Drawing tools
You can have as many pens or markers in many colors (including gradients and galaxy-styled pens) for drawings! For me, I keep my most used colors at the top so I can have easy access to them. I usually use red for important, green for where to put things and et cetera. Below is an example when I use drawings in my digital notes

This is when I use the marker to indicate what tool I should drag onto my canvas.

This is an example of my drawing of binary tree using OneNote markers. What's so special about these feature is that they do not distort even on mobile viewing!

#4 Multiple notebooks
As how we have many different notebooks per semester or year, you can also create many notebooks for different subjects in your class year. You can also color-code your notebooks. As you can see, I use this feature to create new notebook for each semester that I enroll.

#5 In each notebook, you can have many sections
I use these sections (left-side) for different subjects that I take for the semester. For example, in my second semester in Wuxi, I took Networking, Statistics, Database, Data Structure and Chinese language class. I also color code my sections.

On the right side are pages. So for each section, you can create unlimited number of pages, just like how you would use a normal notebook. For me, I open a new page every time we start a new chapter or a new tutorial. If the chapter hasn't moved, I will stay on the same page. This method helps me stay organize and made it easy for me to find my notes.

#6 Rule Lines
Tbh, I do not really need lines because when I type, words are always perfectly in line. But for the sake of aesthetics, I did use some of these lines for certain subjects just for the feel. It makes it feel like I am using a real notebook at points. Here are my notes using rule lines and grid lines.

Taking notes on ruled paper

Taking notes on grid paper

#7 Shareable 
This is my favorite feature of OneNote. My boyfriend and I can collaborate in realtime when I share this notebook to him. Other than that, for teachers (or just about anyone, really), you can also share notes which they can only view. This is a good tool to replace paper handouts during class.

Here I will share how I use OneNote for NoteTaking in Wuxi. Since I got back to MSU, I reverted back to traditional paper note-taking just for fun. Maybe in my next post I can share about my paper note-taking methods. But for now, this is how I use OneNote.

I always include a term planner in my notebooks. I prefer manual calendar rather than the usual because I can mark the weeks in the term which is easier to refer when my lecturer announce assignment submission. The colors I use to fill in the blocks are according to the subjects that I take, which corresponds to the color of my sections.

As a computer science student, most of the time my lecturer will teach us how to program live. In OneNote, I can screenshot my program and write step by step tutorial. This is one point of digital NoteTaking ahead of traditional paper note-taking because on paper, I cannot have the visual of the program.

Whenever my lecturer gave me a sample code to refer to, I always copy them inside OneNote and highlight the important chunks of it. This is also easier to be done digitally than traditionally.

As you can see, OneNote gives me infinite possibilities in structured note-taking. You can also find your notes by searching the key words, which reduces the time taken for you to find what you're looking for. 

I have experienced both traditional and digital note-taking. Some times, I also used OneNote for bullet journaling (I will review later). So far, both methods have its pros and cons. Some extra feature that I like about OneNote is that I do not have to have creative hands because I can import arts and install cute fonts to beautify my notes. The only thing that I'd like for OneNote to have is the ability to make colored borders so I can separate my note chunks. 

You can also find some premade templates online if you like, just search it up on Google. Some studyblrs have already uploaded them. If you wanted my templates, simply notify me in the comments section. 

Are you looking forward to try digital notetaking? Tell me what you think about it!

Thank you for reading this entry :D

New year, new leaf

Hello peeps!

It took me a long-year hiatus to come back to the game. Haha but who's to say this time I stopped again. Oh my commitment TT__TT

Oh well,

So in Malaysia, today is already New Year. In my life, I take new years seriously not because of its celebration with the fireworks and stuffs, it's because I often start a new journal that means everything that I've written in the previous one is closed and archived deep under my bed. It's almost like being reborn with a new chance! Although, I realized that restarting my life every year doesn't take away my previous self from everyone else around me, but since 2018, I have stopped caring about people that much. So for whatever it is, I am resetting my life!

So 2020 makes me 22 years old which means that I am a grown up with responsibilities of my own. I am also almost 100% in charge of my own life. But I am still broke tho.

Yesterday, I was going thru my old journals and I found something interesting, of course I am not going to show it here but it was something that made me laugh and cry and smile all at the same time! I have been writing in diaries since 2013 and in every single one of them, there are 2-page spread about how I want my 2020 to be like! It is funny how my 13 to 21 year self plan to progress my life. As time goes by, I realized that some of the unrealistic ones I have deleted from the list but it's funny how some things stuck hahaha. This discovery led to my post today, my new leaves.

For this year, instead of making new resolutions, I decided to compile all my previous resolutions and I intend to keep track and tick off how many ambitions my children-self wrote from a decade ago!

The forever chart-topping ambition of mine since I was 13 *drumroll*

#1 To get married

I don't know what is it with marriage and I don't even know if this ambition is purely influenced by somebody else but this has always been in my 2020 goal. Not only it always makes the list but it's always on top. Tbh, I did not have boyfriends leading up to last year, I have crushes so if I concluded that I would marry one of them in 2020 that is purely dumb hahaha. I mean it's funny how I always dream about these stuffs when I know that this is the thing that I cannot achieve by myself lol. Nevertheless, I am hoping that I will be a step close this year with my significant other. But I am still young so let's see if I'm fit for this responsibility lol. Only when I grow up I understand the weight that comes with marriage commitment. Little me wasn't aware *silly*

#2 To gossip less

I was a gossip girl growing up. But far along, I didn't like this personality of mine. However, I was proud of myself for being able to gossip lesser and lesser than before. I am trying to stop eventually. I will still read gossips tho, I just won't tell others haha!

#3 To graduate

Tbh, when I wrote this down in a journal from 2014, I still hadn't completely comprehend the studying path. Where should I go, how long a program is gonna take yadda yadda but I still aim to graduate in 2020. Well, things work out in my favor. February through June will be my last semester and I will graduate yeay! 

#4 Get a job as a programmer (IT industry)

When I planned this resolution, I actually was aiming to be a graphic designer or a web developer. But I changed my pathway in 2016 and got into programmer's lane instead. Nevertheless, I still count it as the same so let's see if I will get a job this year!

#5 Own a car

Seeing my country's economic growth right now, I am not sure if this is achievable especially only after a few months of landing a job. My dream car was Cadillac Escalade and Cadillac Eduardo but let's aim for Proton Waja for now :P

Well, I guess that's all that are on the list for every year starting from 2013 to 2019. I hope for at least 3 of these to achieve because I have been dreaming of them for a decade LOL. 

What are your new year's resolution? 

Thank you for reading this entry :D