TV SHOW REVIEW | RIVERDALE [SEASON 1] | NO SPOILERS

Hello, hi, and welcome to the blog! For today, as you have probably guessed, I will be doing a review for the entire Season 1 of Riverdale.

Now, I know you aren't wondering but I'm gonna explain things anyway. Number one, I have watched A LOT of episodes of TV shows in the past months since I've posted my How to Get Away with Murder S01E01 review, but the thing with me is that I usually watch two to three episodes in one sitting, and I hate taking notes for it. Thus, when the time comes of drafting my post for my blog review, I get discouraged because I have a lot on my plate in the past months and rewatching an episode that I already enjoyed before was not exactly the thing I'd wanna do.

With that in mind, I am now reviewing the entire 13-episode first season of Riverdale. For starters, I have watched this season in two days. That included the activities I had to do as a regular human being. That actually doesn't sound much but that is a game-changer for me. Never have I devoured that much episode of the same TV show in a day. I'm actually still stuck on episode 10 of HTGAWM, episode 16 of Glee, episode 10 of Shadowhunters season 2, and I'm still midway for the latest seasons of Flash, Arrow, Supergirl, Steven Universe, and probably more that I'm forgetting. I usually take my time into watching, yeah. Totally. 

I don't feel the need to defend my views and opinions but be enlightened that I have only crossed the face of the Earth for 16 years. Thus, my perspective and experience with things aren't that much wide compared to other people. With that, I may or may not be easily impressed by things that I really love and was engaged in and they may or may not affect my reviews of these shows. Not stating anything, just putting it subjectively.

Also, this review contains no spoilers whatsoever. So your eyes are still spoiler free up to the end of the post!

Without more of my chaotic intro, let us begin!

" [Riverdale] A subversive take on Archie and his friends, exploring small town life, the darkness and weirdness bubbling beneath Riverdale's wholesome facade. "

I'M DOING CALLIGRAPHY NOW?! | AN ART HAUL (PART 1) | JULY 2017

Hello, hi, and welcome to another Sunday which means another blog post (I think).

For today, I am doing something my last year self would never have thought doing, an art haul!

If you know me personally, you will now that anything related to visual art is something I don't do well. My hands were just never for drawing or painting, making me hate anything with relation to paints, crayons, and the like. Well, not actually hate it, but it's just not in my alley.

Nonetheless, I am a lover of anything with relation to words, may it be writing poems and stories or this — blogging! And just months ago this year, something that combines both visual and written art caught my attention — brush pen calligraphy! And when my sister asked if I was somehow interested in that field of art, I decided to say yes even if I have no idea of what I'll be doing. With the glory of the heavens above, my sister bought me the "basic" materials required to actually do brush pen calligraphy and months later, here we are. 

As you may or may not have noticed this "haul" is a two-part blog post. This first one would be all about watercolors and palettes I used for the past three months I've been "trying" to do calligraphy. And the second part would talk about the brushes and papers I've been using. The reason behind this is not because I have too many materials (debatable) to show you, but rather because I am a very busy student and I barely have enough spare time to make this blog post so I figured the most rational and efficient way to do this is to separate this haul.

Just a disclaimer, I am NOT by any means a professional nor at the very least am I knowledgeable enough to fully understand what I am saying but I will do my very best to share my personal thoughts about these products. I am also barely able to habitually practice my calligraphy so don't expect some jaw-dropping art as to I only had less than three months of practice and I started as someone who knew absolutely nothing about paints except for the fact that they act like wet crayons. Plus everything's hard to manage (school, personal, etc.) so, I've only had a very little amount of practice, I just really wanted to share to you guys what works (and doesn't) for me.

MOVIE REVIEW | WONDER WOMAN (SPOILER-FREE)

Hello, hi, and welcome to my blog! It has been more than a month since I posted anything and I don't really have much of a reasonable explanation, so...... let's just head right into this review.

This day, 7th of June, I finally have watched one of my most anticipated movies of the year— Wonder Woman! And I can happily say that I am not disappointed at all. Although, I did not love every part of it (that I will discuss further on), I did enjoy it so much!

Before heading on to the actual review, here is what I know of the Wonder Woman Movie before watching the film:

Wonder Woman is the fourth movie of DC Extended Universe franchise distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures that was released in the Philippines last June 1. Directed by Patty Jenkins, this movie earned a total of $103,251,471 on its opening weekend. As of now, it has reportedly grossed $240 million worldwide. This 141-minute long movie is starred by the amazing Gal Gadot as Wonder Woman herself along with Chris Pine as Steve Trevor. It is also starred by Connie Nielson, Robin Wright, Danny Huston, David Thewlis and a bunch more amazing actors.

(All of the details above are from IMDb and Wikipedia.)

Now that everything has been told, let's get on to the review!

Disclaimer: I am in no way knowledgeable enough to critic films in much intricate explanations. More often than not, I would probably repeat words I just said, forget the fitting terms, and just ramble everything up.

First of all. this movie was phenomenal! It was everything I anticipated it to be. It was so action-packed and was just purely wonderful. Although, I wouldn't say that it was Earth-shattering (it was for the first 3/4 in but the ending was a bit off for some personal reasons) this definitely was a huge improvement from previous DCEU films, at least in my opinion. Just a side note, I adored the first three DCEU films so if you're looking for a love-hate opinion towards the franchise, you probably wouldn't get it here.

MY THOUGHTS ON | "HARD TIMES" BY PARAMORE

Hello, hi, and welcome! For today's post, I am doing something different. I am expressing all my rave about the new song Paramore has released with their new album (woot woot) available on the 12th of May! 

Without further ado, let's begin!

First of all, if by chance you still have not listened to Paramore's new single, "Hard Times", then what are you doing? Listen to it now! I'll link it down below.

Just a bit of a disclaimer, I may or may not be a little bit biased into expressing my thoughts on this song. Most of you might not know this, but I LOVE PARAMORE. Most of my preteen to teen days have been heavily spent on listening and singing their songs. Still Into You, Ain't it Fun and much more were my jam back then (and up to now, let's be honest). I mean, I love Adele and Ed Sheeran as well but they were introduced to me now that I am a bit older, all of my obsessions back then were poured into Paramore songs. 

TV SHOW REVIEW | HOW TO GET AWAY WITH MURDER | PILOT (SEASON 1, EPISODE 1)

How to Get Away with Murder also known shorter as HTGAWM, is a television show I've heard about almost everywhere. I've seen how people raved about it on facebook, heard how Viola Davis (which is an actress I really love) won an Emmy in that show, and read nothing but good news about it on social media, so I was more than very excited to actually immerse myself into this highly talked about TV show.

And finally, after months of doubting whether I should watch it or not, today (or at least the day I am drafting this post, lol), 28th of February 2017, I have finally watched the pilot episode of the 1st season for How to Get Away with Murder!

Before finally reviewing this amazing pilot of HTGAWM, I'd just like to let it out that I am more than aware that this certain episode is not a new release, nonetheless I am still determined to put up this review not only for me to share what I feel but also a way of expressing my excitement as a stress reliever and as something to look back on.

Let's begin! 

ABOUT THE EPISODE:

Episode Title: Pilot

Episode First Aired: September 25, 2014

Director: Michael Offer

Written by: Peter Nowalk

Genre: Crime, Drama, Thriller, Mystery

Runtime: 43 minutes

Synopsis: Student Wes Gibbins begins attending law classes taught by renowned lawyer, the tough and enigmatic Annalise Keating. She offers five students the chance to work with her, while in a flash forward, the students chosen dispose of a body.


RATING & REVIEW:

This episode was amazing. I am giving it an 8.5 out 10. 

BOOK HAUL | NEW BOOKS AND UPDATES (FEBRUARY 2017)

Hello, hi, and welcome to my blog! After a long time of not blogging, I am finally here again with a new post. For today, I am sharing all the books I have hauled the past few months!

I would like to acknowledge my unexpected absence in this blog. You know the reason -- school and nothing but it. Been all out busy, physically, emotionally, and mentally drained as well all the time. We had a lot of school activities, exams, and I am the director of our school play which drains me all the time. Yep, that's that. Although, jokes aside, I sincerely have drafted three reviews for How to Get Away with Murder which is a TV show I recently watched and really enjoyed! I also have drafted my review for Romeo and Juliet and a flash comic book. Expect a lot of content in the near future!

But first, a bit of disclaimer, all of these books are the books that I've accumulated after my last book haul, back when this blog was still Reading with Luigi, last May, you can check that out by clicking here. Meaning all the books I possibly had bought for myself or received from others on the months of June 2016 to February 2017 is in this book haul. That's nine months y'all. Although, majority of these books are books that I got last month. I may have left out a book or so, but who knows? Lol. Also, all these books are either books I bought with my own money and/or books given to me by my family and friends.

Clearing things out, let's get started!

This book haul will contain 20 books -- 16 novels and 4 comic books!

Also would like to mention that all these books are randomly organized. Sadly, I do not have the best memory out there and I don't remember most of the dates or even months I got these books, so yeah. But I will do my best to chat you guys through it.

First on the list is a series I loved watching and now I am excited reading. This is The Chronicles of Narnia by C.S. Lewis. This series is something that I grew up with as a child. If you are unfamiliar (which I highly doubt it), the series contains of seven books namely, The Magician's Nephew, The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe, The Horse and His Boy, Prince Caspian, The Voyage of the Down Treader, The Silver Chair, and The Last Battle. I cannot tell you guys how excited I am to finally be able to read what I loved as a child. All the critiques aside, the movies were phenomenal for me back then. It was one of the stories that introduced me to magical fantasies. I think I'm gonna read it the way C.S. Lewis wanted readers to read it (in the order above), rather than publication dates.

The next one is also a magical novel that I haven't read but loved as a child. It's Peter Pan by J.M. Barrie. If you aren't familiar with Peter Pan, where the world have you been? It's Peter Pan, Wendy, and Tinkerbell! The classic story of a boy who could not grow up. Just the thought of this book brings back so many emotions that the movies brought to me. Let's not forget the clever and adorable Tinkerbell! Personally, I do not like Wendy, but let's see how my thoughts would change once I finally read the novelization. I am nothing but excited to finally dive in!

I got The Chronicles of Narnia and Peter Pan last February from Surprisesoutofboxes for a relatively cheap price. Go visit their facebook page!

ANNOUNCING THE WINNER OF MY FACEBOOK GIVEAWAY! | 2017

Hello, hi, and welcome! For today's post, I am finally announcing the winner to my "New Year, New Blog" facebook giveaway! I am so excited for the winner to receive the prizes I picked, in hopes of him/her loving it!

But before that, allow me to explain where I've been the past few weeks.

If you've liked my facebook page (which you should totally do), I've briefly explained what I've been up to. Click here to redirect you to that post.

Okay, so first thing's first. I have been gone for no other reason but because of school. Our third quarterly exams took place on the fourth week of January, which is when I began not posting. The week after was when we had to submitted our projects and perform different presentations (some of which I directed) making me exhausted all throughout the weeks. Tired is how I would put January in a single word, nonetheless, I am very happy about everything as of now.

"Luigi, does this mean that you'll post weekly now?" As much as I would like to make my regular schedule for posting a reality, I simply cannot promise anything. This week actually, we're on the midst of celebrating our foundation week meaning more activities requiring physical strength, so there's that. Also, I am attending prom this Friday, so again a tiring activity waiting to suck out all the energy from my physical body. But that's not it, I am also chosen to compete in a Math competition two Thursdays from now, meaning more things to do. And as our 4th quarterly project, I am the director/scriptwriter for our Romeo and Juliet play which is our project in three subjects so there's also that. Basically, I am supposed to be all powerful this month, for if not, I would die from tiredness. Haha. 

All the tiring things aside, I do have tons of blog post ideas just waiting to be drafted. I am soon gonna review comics from Flash, which is my most favorite superhero. I also will hopefully be doing a full review for Romeo and Juliet once I read it in preparation for me directing our play. I also have a lot of new ideas for my Let's Talk About series and more. I've been meaning to blog more really, my physical body just wouldn't allow me.

All the explanations aside, let's get started with the announcement part of this post!

Okay, first thing's first. From the bottom of my heart, THANK YOU VERY MUCH TO EVERYONE WHO'VE PARTICIPATED! I am more than happy and glad. The first few hours of this giveaway, almost no one joined but still, many people found their way on my blog. SO to all new readers, hi!

How I listed the entries would be by entry number, the name, and the requirements fulfilled. All of the entries were manually entered on this table below. (which is why it took me ages before finally finishing this)

Again, thank you to everyone who joined my giveaway! I am really touched for getting 147 entries and more than 30 people joined! I know that may seem little for other people, but that's a lot for me!

LET'S TALK ABOUT | PLANNING AND BEING ORGANIZED

Hello, hi, and welcome! For today, I have a new installment on my "Let's Talk About" series. I am excited to talk about another beneficial thing I do in hopes of helping you guys out. If you missed my first installment last week, I talked about Podcasts, which are actually very helpful source of entertainment! If you want to check that out, you can click here.

All introductions aside, let's get started!

As you probably have guessed, today's post will be all about planning and getting a little bit more organized than we all were yesterday. I've been really surprised at how the methods I'm about to share with you guys really work for me, considering I literally dumped by 2016 planner. Today, planning and trying to be organized with all the task I do have been an important part of my day, helping me keep track of my tasks to accomplish, future events I need to prepare to, and as well as my achievements.

The first thing I'm gonna share with you guys are probably the first thing that comes to your mind hearing the word "planning"-- that being a planner. Planners come in different sizes, designs, and prices. I'm gonna share with you one of the best planners I think there is for students like yours truly.

My 2017 planner, and the planner I really love using is the Eskwelahan Planner. "Eskwelahan", for my foreign readers is a combination of the words "Eskuwelahan" meaning school, and "kuwela / kwela" meaning funny. The meaning of those two words literally describes how this planner is. It's a very entertaining planner and at the same time still has the features of a regular planner. It has a monthly layout so you can see your activities for the month, an expense tracker for every month -- which I think is very helpful for me, and a daily planner to help you keep track of the things you need to. I use this planner as a checklist, a journal, and a source of entertainment.

LET'S TALK ABOUT | PODCASTS

Hello, hi, and welcome to today's post! For today, I am launching a new series in the blog called "Let's Talk About". The name says it all, every once in a while I'll be discussing things that interests me in hopes of bringing you some new pieces of information or discoveries that might be helpful to you guys. I hope that made sense because I did my best to explain it in a not literal way. 

Nonetheless, let's get started!

For today's first installment of my new series, I'll be talking about a very helpful thing that I think is so underrated (well, at least from the place where I live in). I'll be talking about podcasts! Basically, what it is is a mix of an audiobook and a talk show/youtube video. Now, I've heard about this "thing" once in a while. It's always being mentioned in Tyler Oakley's outro. I've heard it a couple of times on youtube videos. But never have I seen it anywhere that made me really want to know more about podcasts. All of where I hear it from are just casual mentions like it's nothing that important to check out. That all changed when I was randomly watching snapchat videos (which I really use a lot) and I saw Marcus Butler's video promoting his new podcast, Lower Your Expectations. With all my will, I finally took the time to know more about podcasts and my life has never been the same ever since.

Podcasts are one of the most helpful sources of entertainment which are free that doesn't allow your full attention meaning you can listen it while doing something else but still is as entertaining if you were to watch a full youtube video or a talk show. What I find amazing about podcasts that I listen to though is that it gives the perfect amount of entertainment and things to listen to without actually dragging your complete attention. Like I can actually do school works while listening to podcasts and end up finishing my work and enjoying the podcasts both at the same time. Personally, I prefer studying or working while something else is on or happening that's entertaining. I would often study while a movie's on, write essays while a youtube video is playing or perhaps a vlog, but what I find off with this kind of habit is that I end up sacrificing one of the two things I'm doing at the same time. I either get too focused on studying that I forget that a movie's on ending up not enjoying it or I get too entertained that I end up watching the movie and abandoning my responsibilities. I think it's because youtube videos/movies require too much attention to get what's happening in it. You would need to look up to the screen every once in a while to understand the whole video, and that often results to me not finishing my work. That's the thing I enjoy most about podcasts, I end up really understanding the podcasts because it only requires my sense of hearing and studying requires the sense of sight so it can really simultaneously work out. If you're thinking that "but Luigi you can always listen to songs", the problem is I get too emotional with songs that I sing along with it which results to me being distracted from studying. You see, podcasts is the ultimate entertainment companion to your quiet workplace/studying area! 

ANNOUNCING A FACEBOOK GIVEAWAY! | 2017

Hello, hi, and welcome! As I welcome this new year with a new blog, I'd like to give back to you guys as well! I have been receiving lots of blessings lately and would like to return the happiness to others. So, in that note, I am doing a giveaway!

Please be reminded that this giveaway is posted and on-going on facebook. I'm simply spreading the news via the blog.

What will you win?

• Escape from Mr. Lemoncello's Library by Chris Grabenstein or Unbreakable by Kami Garcia
• The Little Prince notebook/planner
• Sticky notes notebook
• Owl clips
• Sticky notes booklet
• A two-piece large paper tape with tape dispenser
• An eight-piece set of colorful neon pens
• A pop socket 
• A set of washi paper tapes

2017 | NEW BLOG, NEW YEAR!

Hello, hi, and welcome to my blog! I cannot believe that it has been months since I last "officially" blogged. Literally. Recalled my last post? If not, this post would make a little less sense so I suggest check it out, here.

First of all, I wish everyone the happiest new year! May we all have the best year of our lives and may we finally do that thing we always wanted to do. I also would like to thank some special people for helping me revamp the blog. You know who you are!

You cannot believe how excited I am drafting this post. The blog has been under so much changes the past months as I revamped my whole blog. The main thing you would notice would be the change of name, from Reading with Luigi to Paradoxical Grenade. More will be explained below as I release the writer in me.

A little bit of explanation, most of the things you'd be seeing here would either be on the sidebar or on my "About" page since I am explaining the roots of this blog to you guys.

I am literally feeling butterflies on my stomach and I cannot wait for you guys to see the new updates this blog has. Before introducing myself and the blog. I'd like to explain the changes I've made. First of all, the overall theme has been drastically changed, from bookish to space theme. I've also upgraded the menu tabs above to the drop down menu that makes your experience more convenient. Also, the sidebar has been changed and you can simply click the names of the social media you'd like to visit and give a look. I'd also like to remind everyone that every new feature I'd be putting on the blog would just be added as the weeks pass by. So many menus such as comic reviews, monthly favorites, literary works, etc. that you can click would be empty as of now. Rest assured that more would be added as I post new things here. 

Nonetheless, let's get started!

This post will solely be dedicated to everything I can publicly say about myself and this blog. This happens to be the exact same content you would fin on the about page on my blog, lol.

Who am I?

I am Matt Luigi, I go by both names together or either of the two. I reside in a small home in a very busy town at Malolos, Bulacan which is located in the mesmerizing tropical country, the Philippines. I am a teenager in 9th Grade as of the moment. I have a weird preference for things that I like and I don't like. Few things I adore doing are reading, writing, watching movies/tv shows, eating (of course), admiring life and talking about it, and more! Strangely, I have a regular habit of reflecting about how life is wonderful for all of us and how our nature and ecosystem is wonderfully designed along with every known and unknown creatures in it. Weirdness aside, I also like talking about science and scientific theories so I might discuss those too here on my blog. Right now, I am obsessed with the multi-verse theory and theories like it. Okay, maybe that was also weird. Is it? I guess I'll never know. Things I don't like, you say? Well I try not to think of the negative things as life is too short for it, but to give you a brief idea here's a three-word phrase that sums up all of the things I don't like with people, lack of appreciation.