R.I.P.

I planned to make a blog entry the week Anton Yelchin tragically passed away, but only managed to do so now after a lot of dust finally settled.

When the news first broke, I was in shock and wished it was yet another celebrity death hoax. Unfortunately, it turned out to be real, and I'm extremely saddened by this terrible loss.

I first noticed AY in 2009's Terminator Salvation and JJ Abrams' Star Trek. While the latter was a much bigger hit, Anton's role in the former was significantly more prominent, and I was struck by his mature, layered performance as a teenage Kyle Reese, admirably holding his own with the likes of Christian Bale and Sam Worthington.

Then came Charlie Bartlett - a 2007 film I stumbled upon on cable and watched ONLY because AY was in it. ( Well, there's also Robert Downey, Jr. but even he couldn't outshine Anton. I kid you not! )

Charlie Bartlett is, in my opinion, a classic in the vein of the great John Hughes' Ferris Bueller's Day Off and The Breakfast Club - i.e. populated by teens who are old souls, undermining authority in all sorts of creative ways, spewing sagely advice that adults aren't capable of thinking up.

The scene I love most is Charlie's audition for the school play, which made me laugh like Kat Dennings. It was yet another confirmation of Anton's immense talent ( he was 17 at the time ), and he remained a strong presence despite having RDJ to contend with.

The entire movie is available on YouTube. It's my favourite where Anton is concerned, and I highly recommend it to anyone who's interested.

Subsequently, I also saw Like Crazy, Fright Night, Star Trek Into Darkness and Burying The Ex, all of which I enjoyed, but which couldn't match Charlie Bartlett or Terminator Salvation.

However, I recently got my hands on 5 to 7 and Green Room. Will watch them soon, as well as Star Trek Beyond, due for release later this month.

It's comforting to hear personal anecdotes from his co-stars and friends, describing his kind heart, humour and intellectual curiosity. You will be missed by many, including me.

On to Independence Day: Resurgence, the movie I was most excited about this year.

The original Independence Day is one of my all-time faves, and the trailers for the sequel looked phenomenal, so yes, I had high hopes and was fully prepared to embrace and love Resurgence.

Sadly, my reaction was the exact opposite.

I think it was around the 45-minute mark when I started checking my watch to see how long my torture would last. There are just so many things wrong with the film, from the dumb storyline ( a queen and her workers / soldiers; an elderly, frail ex-POTUS effortlessly flying a fighter jet into combat after years of inactivity; key characters conveniently converging in the desert where the final showdown occurred ) to the limp new cast ( Liam Hemsworth is unbelievably dull OMG! ) to the annoying editing ( cutting between scenes every 3-5 minutes isn't cool dammit! ).

One of my major complaints is how the wild-haired scientist from the first movie ends up in a coma for 20 years, miraculously wakes up one day ( presumably "activated" by the second crop of aliens heading to earth ) and suffers zero muscle atrophy. He just hops off the bed and goes running down the hallway. He didn't even have a feeding tube!

So sloppy, ugh.

Anyway, I was happy to see Bill Pullman again. He's aged a lot but also stayed slim. His thick wavy hair is also intact ( I love his hair haha ). Can't stand Jeff Goldblum or Judd Hirsch, but my biggest peeve is Angelababy - a Chinese / Taiwanese ( not sure and don't care ) actress / singer who got completely miscast as a fighter pilot, and pouted her way through the whole production.

Clearly a stunt to drum up box office sales in Asia. Shame on you, Roland Emmerich.

There's talk of a part 3 on the way. I'll be sure to give it a miss. But I still love the first Independence Day. A real class act, that one.

After a loooong absence from local TV, season 20 suddenly appeared, and I'm hooked.

I loathe most reality shows, especially those with lots of melodrama, but something about The Bachelor is just... irresistible.

No, it isn't the guy, because he obviously isn't the star of the show - the ladies are. And they never disappoint.

Every season has its share of bitchy, psychotic and weepy contestants. Again, not something I can usually tolerate, but strangely enough, I find it highly entertaining here.

The quality of bachelors has dropped over the years, after peaking with Andrew Firestone ( indeed, THAT Firestone ) in 2003. The latest, Ben Higgins, is a software sales rep from Denver, and got the gig only because he was so popular on The Bachelorette ( yes, he was chasing another woman together with other men! ).

With this in mind, I find it hard to understand why all the women are so nuts over Ben. Sure, he's tall, athletic and good-looking, with beautiful manners and a gentle demeanour. But he's, well, ORDINARY. Why do the ladies throw themselves at him in such embarrassing ways? Maybe that's another reason the show appeals to me - its sheer inexplicability.

One of the things I like to do is see how many women the bachelor ends up kissing. Some past bachelors were quite discerning while others just went for it. Ben lies somewhere in between. He kisses A LOT of ladies, but is capable of turning a cold shoulder if he senses Fatal Attraction vibes.

I'm at episode 4 right now, and the villain is Olivia - a former news anchor who claims she gave up her job to be on the show. She's glamorous and impressed Ben so much on the introduction night that he gave her the "first impression rose". It's interesting how things go downhill from there, as she becomes consumed by jealousy and paranoia.

BUT - and this is important - past contestants have publicly stated that the Bachelor / Bachelorette series are staged and creatively edited, calling into question the authenticity of the process.

Coincidentally, I recently started binging on UnReal, after a friend's repeated recommendations.

Blatantly based on The Bachelor ( here it's called Everlasting and the bachelor is "the suitor" ), it illustrates all the ugliness we suspect goes on behind the scenes, and ramps it up ten-fold. Everyone's sleeping around, the big boss is constantly high on drugs, the bachelor's in it for all the wrong reasons, and the crew's job is to manipulate the ladies and milk the ratings to the max.

It isn't too bad, but can get tiresome after a while, so I advise small doses.

What I will give them credit for is daring to feature an African-American bachelor in season 2 - something the real show doesn't have the balls to do.


That's it for today. Looking forward to Narcos season 2 on September 2nd! Super awesome, that one. :)