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Bad Genius: More Than Just A Genius

Warning: This review contains spoilers of an otherwise good movie, so it is advised to watch it first

Unless you’ve somehow been a very good student worthy of being promoted as a model for all other students to follow as an example in terms of fairness and honesty, which is quite a feat of itself, you may have cheated in school before, whether it would be on quizzes, individual or group activities, homework, or even in the dreaded tests. Almost everyone has been there before, but I’m pretty sure only a few have done cheating as their means to continue studying or to make money out of it. Also to note, this film was actually inspired by a real-life scandal of students cheating on the SAT, so the very intense process of cheating on an international university entrance test can be pulled off, but as the movie portrays, it’s obviously really hard to do so, and is ill-advised to even do so. Anyway, let’s begin.

Enter the life of Lynn, your typical top student with high honors, who also lives only with her father. She was just accepted in one of those prestigious schools via a scholarship she earned with her academic achievements and success. She then befriends Grace, a good-willed but very academically challenged student who wants to join the school’s acting club, but is held back by her poor grades. Lynn then helps her review for the test, but it is in vain as Grace is also quite forgetful as well. Lynn then helps her cheat the test after realizing that the teacher has leaked the test questions in tutoring sessions. Now this may sound mundane at first, but how they executed it with the dramatic tension, simple yet significant cinematography, the musical score that was used, and how the main actresses played it out made it very intense for a student simply helping a classmate cheat in a test.

Now after Grace passes the test with the help of her bestie, she invites her to their place; a rooftop pool area, which is probably only a part of a usual rich kid’s home. Lynn was approached by Grace’s rich kid boyfriend Pat, who offers a lot of money in exchange for her assistance to also help him and his friends cheat in the next few tests. Though she was rather hesitant at first, but after finding out about the “tea money” that her father pays the school, who already has a very small salary as a teacher himself, she decides to take the deal. Disguising her ploy as piano tutoring, which she also picked up from her mother (whom we do not know their whereabouts), she creates a system of hand signals based on classical piano pieces, each representing a letter. This would then lead to her having even more clients, which would in turn, garner her a lot more money to help her father pay for all the extra fees in school. This is probably only a fourth of the movie and you can see the issues and social commentary being talked about and dealt with.

Now we can go and enter Bank, a classmate of Lynn’s, and a fellow top student who has also consistently been on top, while also being a very honorable and law-abiding. He then catches one of their classmates trying to look at Lynn’s answers, while also unaware that Lynn herself is intentionally giving out her piano signals to everyone involved in the gimmick. Bank then becomes an unintentional witness and leads to the downfall of Lynn’s plan, which gets her scholarship cancelled and her chance to apply for an international scholarship to be taken away, all reprimanded by her father and the school, who were reasonably angry with her. You start to have mixed emotions to the two honor students, since one of them cheated for a somewhat righteous reason, while the other did what he had to do, at the cost of ruining our heroine’s dreams.

After a while, Lynn returns to the cheating business when she was requested by Pat and Grace to help them cheat at an international standardized university admissions test known as the STIC. This huge scheme could earn them millions of Thai Baht. After laying out the plans for the plot, Lynn says that she cannot do it alone, and says that she needs Bank’s help, due to his incredible memory which is essential for its essay part, but at the same time, knows very well that someone like Bank would never want to join them in such a dishonest act.

Bank also lives a very poor life, helping her lone mother with their local laundromat business, and also aims for the very same university scholarship. Suddenly, he was beaten by some thugs and left in a heap, which causes him to miss the scholarship test, losing his chance for one as well. This prompts Lynn to approach him with the offer and he reluctantly agrees. This is quite parallel to how Lynn also had to think first before she entered into the business, but Bank’s situation was more sympathizing, and this can pull on the heartstrings of many viewers, which begs the question on who are actually the good guys or the bad guys.

Now with the two top students all together finalizing the plans, Lynn and Bank would fly to Australia to get a head-start on the exam, since these exams are held at the exact same day on global time, giving them enough time to send the answers back to Grace and Pat so they could distribute the answers to their clients in the most intricate yet effective way. Though as they prepare for the flight doing their final preparations, Pat accidentally spills the beans that he was the one who ordered the thugs to beat Bank up so he could force him to join them. This pretty much angers Bank for a good reason, and leaves. Lynn was also shocked with the plan, with Grace disgusted by her boyfriend’s actions since she was also unaware of such. Lynn starts to have second thoughts, but Bank decides to continue on with the mission, only in it for the money, and to get Lynn to finish what she started, which is also quite true, since this all started with her say ever since.

Now we have these two, flying together to Australia for a bigtime cheating plan, though beforehand, we see their chemistry together as they spend their time around Down Under before the exams actually begin. Even though they seem to have an estranged history with one another, it looks as if they’re developing quite well as if they really were in a relationship.

Once the day of the STIC has started, the intense cinematography, dramatic musical score, and pinpoint acting all played out really well on the scenes to come, which added the spice factor in which this movie had done very well. Though the two were able to do the first parts according to plan, Bank was then caught, which leaves Lynn all by herself at the final section of the test, which was meant for Bank to do. Lynn struggles to do so, but she manages anyway.

This would be the part of a heist where the main character has to make their getaway. She then fakes her sickness, takes all her things, and tries to leave the test center early, which then alarms the test administrator due to suspicions with her being an accomplice of Bank. As an act of sacrifice, Bank tells the staff that he doesn’t know her, which allows her to be let go, in turn of him having to answer for his actions, which leads him to stay at Australia for another day or two. Everything about this just screams the climax of the story; the preparations and security measures before and during testing, answering and memorizing the answers, using the bathroom breaks to send the answers to Grace and Pat back in Thailand, the cliché yet conflict-worthy apprehension of Bank, a race against time, other shenanigans, and the chase scene people didn’t think was intense on paper.

When Lynn returns home, she finds out that the entire scheme was a success, but due to the trauma and intensity she experienced from that, she decides to call-off any future plans with Grace and Pat, and cuts them off. After a long while, she visits Bank, who invested the share he got from the big scheme in renovating his mother’s laundry business. Bank then invites her to a new scheme, with a much bigger pay, this time taking the national exams, with a relatively much safer operation. After quite some emotional talk and pauses, with some internal moral questioning from the part of Lynn, she decides not to partake in it, and comes out clean about their big scheme. After a heartfelt and tearjerking confession with her father, along with some comfort from him, she then submits a formal confession to the STIC confession, in which is her ultimate redemption.

You can see how the two main characters just developed drastically, from all that has happened. Even to the point that these two parallel, and more often opposite people, have changed their characters, in which it looks like they switched places in terms of their moral compasses. This Thai heist thriller film has shown us how all these things shown can really impact someone in fitting manner in their writing. It made the mundane setting of academic institutions into something that actually pumps your adrenaline, makes your heart race, and keeps your eyes wide-open for the most part.

The way the movie was filmed; using simple yet well-used cinematography, camera angles, and minor visual effects; the specifically composed music score which fit every scene, the suitable and expressive acting of the cast, which allowed them to portray their respective characters perfectly. I will be honest, when I first heard of it and the trailer was released, I didn’t really feel like watching it, but after actually watching it, I must say that it’s definitely deserve the critical acclaim it received. This movie is highly recommended for those who want to see something quite unique and tastefully done, while also having some issues related to teenage and school problems, all wrapped up in a somehow heist film, and in the end, people like Lynn are more than just a genius, not just a example, but also someone some people could definitely relate to in some way.

[onlineandcultured]

The Imitation Game: The Mathematician Hero Nobody Knew

When people think about war heroes, people think about people who have risked and sacrificed their lives for their loved ones, people, nation, and the world. Those who have gone into the front-lines, taking on the enemy head on while defending points and keeping those that matter most safe deserve a lot of credit, but there are also people behind-the-scenes which make every move in the game of war, who are tasked to do secret assignments in aiding their allies, potentially turning the tide of the war, also deserve due credit. People who partake in such obscure and secretive work may end up being unrecognized and not credited for their contributions by the masses, especially those who are shunned out by society, usually for top-secret purposes. Though eventually, they’d be revealed in history for their role and efforts, there is still one who wasn’t given the proper respect for their actions essential to how the Allied Powers defeated the Axis Powers, most especially Nazi Germany. This person was none other than English mathematician and cryptanalyst Alan Turing.

Now, I wouldn’t be writing this if it weren’t for the fact that he has gotten himself a film based on his biography known as “The Imitation Game”, nor would I have known anything about him if it weren’t for this award-winning movie. To start things off, Alan Turing, who’s played by none other than Benedict Cumberbatch himself, had a rough school life in his boarding school, being unhappy and constantly bullied for being different from the rest of the other students. This scene is all too familiar to almost everyone who’s been a victim of bullying way back in school, though luckily, he was able to develop a friendship with Christopher Morcom, who assured him that he’s no different from everybody else, told him about how smart and gifted he was, and the one who sparked Alan’s interest in cryptography. As they spent more time together and as they grew closer, Alan began to develop romantic feelings for his dear friend. Yes, Alan Turing was a homosexual.

Sadly, before Alan could confess his love to him, Christopher died due to tuberculosis during a vacation with his family. Years later, after working with certain accolades in the field of math and Britain declaring war on Germany, he travels to Bletchley Park to join the cryptography team of Hugh Alexander, John Cairncross, Peter Hilton, Kieth Furman, and Charles Richards, under the command of Alastair Denniston. They were tasked to try to deciphering the Enigma machine, which the Nazis used to send coded messages. Alan wasn’t really the best coworker, and seemed pretty arrogant and lonesome with his work. He decided to build a machine to decrypt Enigma, but he lacked the funds and resources to do so. He then turned to Deniston for help, but he refuses to give him any at all. Alan then wrote a letter to the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, Winston Churchill himself. Much to the surprise of everyone, Churchill puts Turing in charge and gives him funds for his machine. Turing then subsequently fired Richards and Furman, much to the dismay of everyone, while the news of a Soviet spy lurks among them as well. Afterwards, a very difficult crossword puzzle was added to the newspapers around Britain to search for replacements. A Cambridge graduate named Joan Clarke, was able to surpass his test, but her parents could not allow her to work with the male cryptographers, so Turing arranged a place for her to live and work with female clerks who intercept the messages made and sent by the Nazis. Turing would then confide to her about his plan, and with Clarke’s help, he was able to become more sociable and respectable to work with the other cryptographers.

Turing’s Machine, which he named Christopher, was finally constructed, but he could not determine the settings to find out the key of Enigma before the Nazis reset its encryption each day. After he took way too long, Denniston led a few of his men towards the area and orders them to destroy it and fire Turing afterwards. Luckily, the other cryptographers come to the rescue and threaten Denniston by leaving if he fires Turing. Fast-forward a bit and Clarke plans on leaving due to the wishes of her parents, and with Turing doing everything he could think of for her to stay due to how she helps really well, then proposes to her, which she then accepts. During the reception and the party at a bar, cue the random scenes furthering character development, Turing admits to Cairncross that he is indeed a homosexual, and tells him to keep it a secret, due to the fact that being a homosexual is punishable by law, as it is seen as gross indecency back then. He then overhears a conversation between Clarke and one of the female clerks about the messages they receive, Turing realizes something that might as well could be what they need to break Enigma. They all rush back to the machine in the middle of the night, and program the machine with words that are already present in the existing messages. After recalibrating everything and putting the machine back to work once more, it was able to decode a message, prompting a celebration amongst all of them. After almost two years, they have finally cracked the code. They have finally broken Enigma, and with that at hand, they will be able to pinpoint and anticipate Nazi attacks before they would happen. Though Turing realizes something that would sour it all up; if they acted upon every single decoded message, the Germans would realize that Enigma had been broken, which would prompt them to change the code, and ruin all that they had worked so hard for.

Cairncross reveals to Turing that he was the Soviet spy all along, but he tries to convince him that the Soviets are also working on the same goal as the British, and tells him that he would retaliate to Turing if his cover’s blown because of him by revealing to everyone that he is a homosexual. When one of the top agents of Britain, Stewart Menzies, comes around to threaten Clarke, Turing then reveals to him that Cairncross is the spy, but apparently, he already knew that, and the reason he allowed Cairncross to slip past them and join the team was to benefit the leaking of messages to the Soviets to Britain’s advantage. Turing becomes very worried for Clarke’s safety and asks her to leave, but she refuses as she’s at the prime of her work and could never leave him. He then went as far as to reveal Clarke that he was in fact gay, and lied to her that he never truly cared for her at all. This broke Clarke’s heart, obviously, because she already had suspicions about his true sexuality, but she insisted that they would still be happy together anyway.

After the war, everyone was celebrating and cheering for the end of the world war and the victory of Britain and the Allies Powers against the Nazis and the Axis Powers. Except for the rest of the team, who had it quite differently. They would have to stay quiet, burn all their work and other evidence, and never see or speak to each other again to keep the secrecy of their contributions for the meantime, by orders of Menzies. After a few more years, Turing was convicted by British authorities for indecency when it was finally revealed that he’s a homosexual. He was given a choice of either a jail sentence or chemical castration. He chooses the latter so he could at least continue his work as a mathematician and educator, despite the physical and mental problems he would develop due to his punishment. Clarke then visited his home and witnesses his deterioration and weakening. She then comforts him with the fact that the war could’ve dragged on longer and may have had a different outcome if it weren’t for his work, which also saved millions of lives.

It’s quite the tragic ending for the story of someone who had done a lot for his country. Who knows what would’ve happened if Turing didn’t do anything at all. He did all that, and what he got in return was no one who knew and thanked him for his work, followed by punishment just for being gay. Life can go from being a tad quaint, to being brutally unfair, but despite it all, he just did what he did best, and continued to do what he wanted to do. It’s truly admirable on how he continue to go on despite all that, because that’s how we should be living our life, no matter what kind of nonsense and horrible things it throws at us. All of us are capable of greatness, and all we gotta do is do whatever it takes. So next time, when you find out that someone did something very important, possibly for the greater good, give them their due credit and respect, because they truly deserve it.

“Sometimes it is the people no one imagines anything of, who do the things that no one can imagine.”

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The Game Awards: Let Thy Games Be Known

People have heard of certain merits and achievements such as the Pulitzer and Nobel prizes, and Academy and Oscar awards, for people who either contribute well to certain fields of literature, culture, science, and academics, or just have outdone themselves in the film, television, and showbiz. These are all highly respectable and valued awards for the recognition of the people who have done their absolute best or have gone beyond boundaries, but has anyone tried to stop for a bit and look at all the other things that are also deserving of some form of merit and recognition as well?

They could be those who have been a huge part of your childhood, or an interactive form of entertainment that has been constantly evolving ever since the release of a classic known simply as “Pong”, and has built a huge industry out of itself as time passes by and people of all ages clamor for some sort of way to either pass the time or just have something enjoyable to do. Luckily, these awards do exist, and as original as it sounds, The Game Awards is there for you.

The Game Awards 2017

This year’s Game Awards consisted of game developers rambling over interviews, trailers and teasers for upcoming and long-awaited games, perfectly orchestrated renditions of certain BGMs and video game soundtracks, and appearances from well-known and respected video game developers and representatives from video game companies, and surprise reveals for major game franchises, exclusives, and overall content.

Oh, and this too

Of course, these kinds of things have an advisory board, which consist of representatives from the big names of the video game industry such as Nintendo, Microsoft, Activision, Sony, Valve, Ubisoft, Warner Bros., Rockstar Games, AMD, EA, and Kojima Productions. They then select more than thirty influential video game news organizations that are allowed to nominate and vote for their selected videogames in several different categories.

These categories include Game of the Year, Best Narrative, Best Score/Music, Best Art Direction, Best Ongoing Game, Best Multiplayer, and many more categories for each and every essential part or genre that is recognized in the industry. They also award people too for awards such as Best Performance, Trending Gamer, Best eSports Player, and Best eSports Team as well.

For this year’s Game Awards, they had 52 experts and representatives in the video game industry to select the winners, which is a much bigger committee than the previous year’s 28. This year had a much bigger pool of games for not only the committee, but for the masses to vote on. This year’s Game of the Year award, however, goes to “The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild.” It was also quite astonishing when the game’s first look of early gameplay was also featured before in The Game Awards last 2014. Other games came out strong too, from being runner-ups for Game of the Year, to attaining awards in other fields too. This includes the following:

Another popular game made by Nintendo “Super Mario Oddysey”, was awarded Best Family Game, a 3D adventure platformer, which is reminiscent and just as enjoyable as Mario’s first take in the 3D environment, “Super Mario 64.”

The well-received, anime-like game “Persona 5”, made by Atlus, got the award for Best Role Playing Game or RPG, with the Persona series known for its fleshed-out story and compelling universe based on mythologies and legends.

The fan-favorite cult indie game “Cuphead”, created by Studio MDHR, was awarded Best Art Direction for its Fleischer-inspired cartoon style that it used, and also got Best Independant Game.

Many other games were also obviously featured, popular or not, which include games of many different genres such as Overwatch, PUBG, NieR:Automata, What Remains of Edith Finch, South Park: The Fractured But Whole, Final Fantasy XV, Tekken 7, and many more which make up the wide array of video games that one can indulge in and have fun.

The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild - GOTY 2017

For the people who don’t know much (or anything at all) about this event, this annual awards ceremony, that honors achievements in the video game industry, all started from its predecessor, the Spike Video Game Awards, with Canadian games journalist Geoff Keighley hosting it all ever since. Back then, previous incarnations of these awards for videos games aimed more on comedic purposes and commercial work.

By working with several entities in the industry, which include console hardware manufacturers such as Nintendo, Microsoft, and Sony, and several game publishers, including the likes of EA, Valve, Activision, Rockstar Games, and Ubisoft to finance the new awards show, along with the blessing of Spike.

Keighley managed to secure a venue and streamed the event through Valve’s Steam service, which reached a much larger audience than their predecessors. It was important for Keighley that the awards presenetation favors the interests of the gamers and of the industry, while also welcoming other popular celebrities and mainstream figures who have taken an interest to video games. He also decided to put additional content such as early access and teasers, development updates of games that are on the works, the diverse selection of games featured, and a sale for the nominated video games during and after the event, to keep things fresh and interesting in the show.

The design of the statuette awarded to the selected games was a collaboration between Keighley and the Weta Workshop, which symbolizes the evolution of video games as a medium, is an angel that ascends through digital building blocks.

As shown above: The statuette awarded to the winners for each category.

One may or may not be into it, but one must also admit that the video game industry is rising, and has been making an impact to the world in one way or another. It has created hobbies, passions, memories, bonds, jobs, and messages. There is a lot of commitment and dedication in creating and developing video games, to the point that it could be considered as a valid form of art; an interactive version of media, with many kinds of games to choose from, there is bound to one that catches your eye.

The Game Awards has shown recognition and respect to those who have worked hard to make their projects happen, and they are all made around one common purpose: to be enjoyed with. Video games are not just played with, but also immersed in. The people behind the scenes mostly have fun making video games, and the gamers who then either find their games at a store, receive it as a gift, or just simply discover from somewhere or someone, may play it and have fun for themselves too.

You can access the official Game Awards website by clicking here

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Desmond's Story: Believe In Heroes

As we did our almost weekly movie viewing in one of our classes, we voted on watching a movie called "Hacksaw Ridge", directed by Mel Gibson. As soon as it started, I immediately recognized Andrew Garfield, who was the starred as the main character of the movie, Desmond Doss. I could never unsee a certain webslinging superhero whenever I saw him. Despite the fact that this isn't really a superhero movie, I'd beg to differ.

Based on the true story of a war hero of WWII, it follows Desmond's call to duty and the hardships he face, such as getting a spot in the US army as a combat medic who refuses to use a gun, let alone hold one. He was not your ordinary hero though. His way of serving the country is saving lives, not taking them, due to his beliefs and past experiences. Despite the people that doubted him, the circumstances he had to face, and the odds stacked against him, he still keeps his unwavering faith and his solemn vow while serving his country in the face of adversity.

This historical and dramatic movie, well-directed with each element falling in place, tells the tale of an extraordinary man in a heartwarming and fascinating way of storytelling and execution, who in times like these, can also be known as a superhero. The acting from everyone in the movie was undeniably impressive, and the little surprise at the ending of the movie was very inspiring. I highly recommend it, especially to those who enjoy movies that empower people and emphasize values such as heroism, bravery, integrity, and spirituality.

"Stay true to what you believe in"

"With the world so set in tearing itself apart, it don't seem like such a bad thing to me to wanna put a little bit of it back together."

~ "Hacksaw Ridge" 2016