American Horror Story: Asylum

 I've always wanted to watch American Horror Story, but I never really gave it a try. I was made aware of its existence of it when Lady Gaga starred in it and I'm a Lady Gaga fan, but it wasn't aired in Malaysia back then and I didn't really bother to search for it. Until last year, I subscribed to Disney+, and this is a show that is streamed on it. 

The problem is it's rated R21, and Disney+ by default set the viewing restriction at 18, so I only found out later when I raised the viewing restriction to 21. I remembered reverting it to 18 because I found it a hassle to have to repeatedly key in the PIN, but then I was stumped that the show disappeared from the platform. I thought it was removed and was crestfallen, but it turned out it's just a Disney+ feature to completely remove R21 shows from the library when the restriction is 18.

Anyway, I decided to give the show a try, starting with season 1. I am a horror genre fan, so this show was great for me and since I've already paid for Disney+ and there ain't more interesting shows to watch, this show is it.

The first season, in my opinion, was weak. Still entertaining, but not as great as season 2 - Asylum.

I wasn't aware this show was meant to be anthological. So to see some actors returning as different characters was great, because I love a lot of them. 

Season 2 is a lot more disturbing and a lot scarier and not involves extraterrestrial beings. But the core focus is on asylum and a disturbed psychologist. I especially love Sister Jude, my god why is Jessica Lange such a great and awesome actress? And I also like Evan Peters, this guy is extremely talented. I'm sad Jessica Lange had chosen to leave the show after season 4, which means I won't be seeing her soon. But I really love her performance. Lily Rabe as Sister Mary is also impressive - she is undeniably also a very talented actress.

I like the finale the best. I love it that the show producers decide to inject a little empathy and let Kit take care of Sister Jude, and by taking care of his kids, she partly repented for her role as an abuser. The last episode was emotional, in a very good way.

American Horror Story has been an impressive series so far, and season 11 seems to be on production. I may be almost a decade later to catch on with the show, but it has not disappointed and I'm absolutely glad I found it.

Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness

I know a lot of Marvel fans give up after Endgame and thought whatever comes next wouldn't excite, but I hope I have the opportunity to tell them they're very dead wrong. Marvel still delivers, and it knows how to deliver. Sam Raimi directs the sequel to Doctor Strange titled as Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, with Dr Strange and Wanda being the two key characters in the film. It's too bad Wanda's the villain. I mean, I love Wanda, to see her play the villain role is a bit heartbreaking for him. And I think this is the first Marvel movie where a fellow Avenger turned rogue and evil. 

This movie wasted no time entering the main storyline. It began with Strange and Chavez in an alternate universe with that Strange dying, then it panned to our MCU Strange attending Christine's wedding when he witnessed mayhem and intervened. Immediately after that, he visited Wanda, found out she was the villain, and the two sides collided. 

I'll just say I like the movie. A little horror elements but nothing a horror fan like me couldn't handle. It's a little perplexing that Wanda's power has grown so much that she could single-handedly and rather effortlessly kill 5 members of the Illuminati. It had been said the strength of her chaos magic is tied to her emotion, and in this movie, she's extremely emotionally distraught, but still, it felt a little stretched, if not impossible, that she had grown so strong. If this Wanda existed in Infinity War, the movie would end when Thanos tried to get Vision's stone in London.

I like the movie. I like it a lot. The movie has drawn some mixed criticism but I would rate it very highly at 9.5/10. I like Wanda, and I like Dr Strange. I'm a little disappointed that Strange is portrayed as weaker than Wanda, but I suppose I could argue Strange had been holding back - he didn't seem to have a lot of difficulties overpowering his corrupted counterpart in the possession of the Darkhold.

Hoping to watch more Marvel movies! The multiverse has begun and it has been marvellous!

Penang, Part 1

In April 2022, I had the opportunity to return to Malaysia and WFH for a month, as a kind gesture by my company for foreign employees to go home after being apart due to covid-19 induced border closures. I took it and went back.

But the problem is, it becomes, surreal.

After being stuck in Singapore for two years, Singapore has sort of become my abode. Like it or not, once you've stayed in a place for a long time, it becomes home. You do not have to like your home, it's home.

Returning to Malaysia brings me subdued happiness and hope, a sense of escape from a rut, but that's it. I get to meet my parents and sister, and I get to return my hometown and visit some old places and eat some local food, but other than that, the excitement was less thrilling than I thought.

My flight was 11am something. I initially bought MAS, but stupid Malaysia Airlines rescheduled my flight to another day and that would mean I would waste a day's leave, so I cancelled it and got it refunded. No thanks because I opted for the expensive fee that specifically allowed a refund without a fee, but I couldn't get a refund for insurance. I then bought AirAsia.

I went to the airport early because I feared the procedure to check covid-19 documents would take a lot time. I reached the airport about 3 hours before flight time, so about time the check-in luggage counter opened. 

It actually wasn't too much a hassle. The ground crew checked whether mySejahtera had been downloaded and whether the traveller's card was already filled, and then checked whether a pre-departure test was done. Once they are cleared, everything was smooth. 

I then shopped around at Jewel and T1, found nothing of interest, and went in to T1 and waited.

Then I boarded the flight. And flew.

Touching down in Penang, I felt, home. It's been a while. Because I'd taken a Pontian wanton mee at T1 (only shop operating at 9am) and took Pak Nasser's Nasi Lemak on flight (which was a bit disappointing, food wasn't thawed properly and the taste was a bit bland, I'm not sure why, I've taken it many times, this time it felt disappointing), so I did not take any more lunch that day.