I feel like I apologise way toomuch for not posting so I'll make it quick. Sorry for being away for a
little over a year! And now that's over and done with, let's get right into it!
So what's been happening in the year we've been away? The answer to that dear reader is that I've been digging my teeth into the world of K-Pop. It started with one music video and now I'm here one year later with playlists full if it.
So here we go! This is my year in Kpop
f(x) - 4 Walls
Album: 4 Walls Why you should listen: It's f(x)'s long awaited comeback since the
departure of Sulli in 2014. This single caught me by surprise with
it's house vibe. Compared to their past releases, this one caught me bysurprise and it's nice to hear Amber actually singing more than rapping. Actually the whole album caught me by surprise. 4 Walls as an album is a work that I recommend as a whole. Other Notable Releases: X, Diamond (but really everything on the 4 Walls Album is gold.)
SHINee - Married to the Music
Album: Married to the Music (Repackage) Why you should listen: This was the first Kpop song that actually
encouraged me to have a look at an entire album. It is also the song
that I first recommend to other people. I have mentioned before that I love a good brass section and the chorus is all about that. And the
music video is a lot of fun to watch as well with its Halloween, Rocky Horror Picture Show-esque theme. Other Notable Releases: View, Odd Eye, (the whole album is pretty darn good anyway)
Well this is awkward. Long time no see guys! I haven't written anything since about January and I'm so sorry about that! Here's a quick little life update with what's been going on which will hopefully explain this unintentional hiatus. Part-time jobs took up pretty much all of our time and energy throughout the summer and then when February rolled in, Justine was off on holiday around Europe and then an exchange in Spain while I spent an amazing holiday in the USA. Yes, this girl finally got to visit a Disney Park and it was amazing. And right as we got back it was time for university once again. This year I've started law school and I can rightfully say that it is hectic. So, in saying that, updates won't be coming as often. But I will try to write when I can.
Last week I found out that I won tickets to go see Cinderella and I finally got to see it today. So here I am, putting my thoughts down once again while Justine is off at a Ricky Martin concert. I'll see if I can convince her to write a little something about it. No promises. Today, with two of my Once Upon a Time watching sisters, a bottle of Mountain Dew, a bucket of popcorn and a bag of chocolate buttons, it was time to experience yet another Disney live-action remake. Fun fact, I was also sitting next to a teacher from my old high school. I can't say this is the first time this has happened.
Watch the trailer for Cinderella (2015)
This live-action adaptation of Cinderella is simply
beautiful, vibrant and refreshing. It’s a massive step up from Maleficent
(2014) who took creative liberties and almost made it an unrecognisable story.
I did initially enjoy Maleficent, but I took it in and realised that some
choices were questionable. Cinderella (2015) takes the classic tale and adds welcomed
embellishments here and there, rather than turning it on its head.
Hello there readers! Long time no see. I guess I’ll get the
apologies out of the way. After exams ended I was thrust straight into the
world of work once again and let me tell you… retail around the holiday season
is no laughing matter. There have been many things that we’ve been dying to
write about but so often they have been left as drafts and cast aside,
unfinished and forgotten. But hey, now that we’re into the new year, new
movies, new music… hopefully we can get back into the swing of things.
This post has been in the works for a while and I have tried
to start and finish it on many occaisions. I guess you could say that I’m in
denial, I can’t believe that The Legend of Korra is over and that I have to
carry on without any new episodes. Mind you it’s already been about a month
already. This is not the kind of life I want to live! All dramatics aside, like
I’ve said, I’ve tried to write this finale post from different angles. A lot of
times it just turned into a scene- by-scene retelling of the episodes. And
that’s definitely not what I wanted. So hopefully, I have more luck with this one.
by Justine My very first venture into the world of Edward Norton was actually spurred by my dad when he suggested I watch Primal Fear. From that point on, I have consistently awed by his dedication to his roles, the vision he has for his character and, let's face it, he's got this whole duality thing sorted. I discovered the existence of American History X whilst exploring Mr. Norton's Wikipedia page and, seeing as I liked him so much in Primal Fear, I thought why not. I couldn't possibly have anticipated how much I would enjoy this film.
Derek Vinyard (Norton) is the young, skinhead protege of a white supremacist, neo-Nazi named Cameron. He leads a small group of angry, pissed off, white people in a modern day crusade to take back his neighbourhood from the "niggers" and "spics". His brother Danny follows close behind, idolising his brother and breathing in the propaganda. When a poor decision by Derek leads to his incarceration, Derek learns about the consequences of his life choices and sets out to save his brother from a similar fate.
Don't be misled by the title. This film has very little to do with American history in the strict sense of the term. In fact, I think the film makes a great comment about the nature of history itself. History doesn't necessarily have to mean Hitler and great wars, history can be personal too. The X in American History X represents an x-ing of conventional attitudes towards history instead encouraging people to look at their own histories and analyse the events that shaped their lives. This is a strong theme in the film. It is illustrated particularly by Sweeney's rejection of Danny's essay on Mein Kampf (for those of you who aren't history enthusiasts, that's a book written by Hitler during his prison sentence) instead encouraging him to write about his brother and how events surrounding him have come to shape Danny's own life.
This brings us to the theme of familial influence. The crux of this story is Derek's influence over his brother, which at first pulled him into a life of violence and extreme prejudice, but which he is now trying to use to undo the damage. We also see the influence that Cameron has initially over Derek and now over Danny as he assumes the father-figure role. Sweeney also takes on this paternal role and uses his influence to alter the trajectory of both boys' lives. This story is very much about family and how they can both save and destroy each other.
This film plays with linearity using black and white to distinguish events from the past from events in the present. It also does a great job of representing Derek's mindset in the past - black and white. I'm not sure if I'm being all english-teacher-y by reading into that but that's how I saw it. I do enjoy when films manipulate time. It sort of makes it feel like you're putting together a puzzle - when you start, there's no real systematic order in which you put the pieces together but maybe you'll find two pieces that fit together and then another two that fit together. The way that a film unravels which it plays around with time gives you that feeling of discovery which I love. These "flashbacks" also serve as a means of showing us critical events from Derek and Danny's pasts that have shaped who they have become - the basketball game, the murder, the uh prison shower bit. This all plays into the greater concept of history being personal events that mould us into who we are.
As in every one of his films, Norton absolutely kills it. Despite his age, he always seems to look very boyish. For this film he packed on the muscle, grew some manly facial hair and transformed himself from scared little Aaron in Primal Fear to this ruthless beast that just emanated hate and self-satisfaction. Norton returns to his roots of duality by contrasting this hardened white supremacist with his post-prison self who is more aware, accepting and rejecting of his past. Norton manages to aptly show both the hardness and harshness of pre-prison Derek with the softer, more family oriented and loving brother figure of post-prison Derek. The fact that the audience is able to feel strong emotions towards the same character but in two completely different ways is testament to Norton's brilliance as an actor.
This is an absolute must see film. Yes, the beginning is awkward to watch with your parents, yes there's a tonne of violence and yes, the director was a bit of a ... fill in the blank BUT this film also has some of the most amazing symbolism and imagery (e.g. the proud exposure of his swastika vs his desire to cover it post-prison, the pouring of milk onto the black woman's face at the grocery store, the taking down of Danny's Nazi paraphernalia in his bedroom). It is also filled with fantastic monologues that, though severely racist and prejudiced, ask the real questions and make you question what you believe and how you feel about certain situations (why IS it that Europeans can come to America and prosper while the hispanic and black population seem to be living in poverty?). It is controversial no doubt but it opens up a dialogue and it really makes you think.
"Derek says it's always good to end a paper with a quote. He says someone else has already said it best. So if you can't top it, steal from them and go out strong."
by Daniela
I have a confession to make. I am 21, I watch Girl Meets World, and I have no shame. Yes, I actually haven't watched Disney Channel religiously since I was about 14. Okay, that does sound a bit out of the demographic but Hannah Montana was my thing. If you ask a lot of people today, many would say that Disney Channel shows are on the decline as the quality of the shows aren't what they used to be. I might even go out and say that Disney Junior is probably better than the main channel. But that's just me.
So why is 21 year old me watching a show that's aimed at tween girls? The answer may be no surprise to you, but growing up, I was huge fan of it's predecessor, Boy Meets World. Boy first aired in my birth year but growing up, you could always find a timeslot where they aired episodes in order from season 1. Although some of the themes may have gone right over my head, it was still entertaining and memorable. Who could forget Cory and Topanga's first interaction and Topanga smearing red lipstick all over her face? Naturally, when word of sequel started circulating, this peaked my interest and I was anxiously waiting for a premiere date. But has it lived up to the hype?
Edward Norton and Kevin Spacey are without a doubt two of my favourite actors. So, I thought it might be interesting to pit their films against each other and see who really is the king of the silver screen. I'll be doing a part by part series of either a Norton or Spacey film for the next few weeks starting this week with Academy Award winning American Beauty.
This film came out in 1999 when I was all of about five years old. I remember seeing it at the video store and in my little five year old brain thinking that it was some documentary about beauty pageants or something. Well...it wasn't. I watched it for the first time twelve years later in 2011 when I selected it to be one of my film studies for my English scholarship exam. Needless to say, I was completely blown away by the complexity of it, the social commentary, the phenomenal camera work and of course, the stellar performances by Annette Benning, Thora Birch, Meena Suvari, Wes Bentley and most of all, Kevin Spacey.
by Daniela Studio: Walt Disney Pictures Release Date: March 13 2015
Disney has started having a knack for taking their classic tales and creating live-action retellings. Earlier this year we had Maleficent, a retelling of Sleeping Beauty from the perspective of the villain, and we also have future projects like The Jungle Book on the horizon. If we take Maleficent as an example, the main issue that a lot of Disney fans took from it was its disregard for a lot of the "source" material (the 1959 animated film) and completely rewriting a lot of what we already knew. So, is it a good idea for Disney to reimagine the story of one of the most iconic princesses?
It's really no surprise that Disney has decided to Bibbidi-bobbidi-boo around with the story of Cinderella. Aside from their animated film from 1950, there have been many adaptations of this Grimm tale. One that I hold close to my heart is the Rodgers and Hammerstein's versions, this includes the Broadway show and the Brandy TV special. I grew up with In My Own Little Corner and Ten Minutes Ago was one of the first songs I learned on the ukulele. With all these different adaptations of one classic fairytale, it does make me wonder how far away Disney is willing to veer away from their version of the story of which they established.
f(x) - 4 Walls
