Movie Review: Snow white and the Huntsman

Now, first things first, I did quite enjoy this movie, mainly because Chris Hemsworth was in it. However, I have some major issues with it that I'd like to share with the world:

a) Badass princess illusion: The movie was promoted in such way that everyone believed it would be different from the cliche 'princess waits for her prince to come/save her' we see in any other take on the fairy tale - whether that's film or cartoon or  book form. We were let to believe Snow white would be fighting for her freedom and would kick some ass, but no. She's in an armor for about 7 minutes, 6 of which she is getting beaten up by the Evil Queen.

b) Kristen Stewart: A brick can act better than Kristen Stewart, and that's that.


c) Love triangle: or even better, the lack of one. What's the point of having Prince William in the film, if there's nothing going on between Snow hite and THE PRINCE? Yes, I get it. It's an alternative take on the fairy tale and all, but if he's not the love interest, he's irrelevant to the story and therefore unnecessary to this specific plot. Also, let's take a moment to mention the kiss shared between Snow white and William (Evil Queen in disguise - however Snow white still thought it was William) that is never again mentioned anywhere in the film.

On the plus size, Charlize Theron nailed it as the Evil Queen.

6.5/10

Les Miserables - London Production

I recently went to watch Les Miserables in London and, my God, it is FANTASTIC!

As a huge fan of both the novel by Victor Hugo, and the 2012 film directed by Tom Hooper, I must say I was blown away by how amazing the musical theatre version of the novel is. The storyline is of course excellent, but I was incredibly impressed with how talented the cast really is, both in acting and singing.

The overall atmosphere in the theatre was great, from the very moment we arrived until the moment we left. As soon as the curtains went up and the orchestra started playing, everyone went silent and remained that way until the intermission. The play takes you on an emotional rollercoster (I must admit, I cried, a lot) but leaves you feeling quite joyous for some reason.

I highly recommend this to everyone, as it truly is worth it. I, myself, plan to go back sometime soon, as I'd like to enjoy it from a better seat ( my ticket was a birthday present, therefore I had no say as to what seats we got). It is by far the best theatre production I've been to so far.

5/5

Book review: Grow up by Ben Brooks

I literally read this book in a day and a half.. It's THAT good!

Grow up is a hilarious novel written by 21 year old Ben Brooks, at the age of 17.

It is an insight into the life of a somewhat typical British teenager, Jasper, who is what could be best described as an extremely messed up individual. He is dealing with everyday issues that no one really likes to talk about, as one might say they are considered taboo, such as teenage relationships, sex, drugs, potential pregnancy, death and the difference between reality and imagination. It is very well written, something that wouldn't be expected by a 17 year old, and very witty and fun to read, yet remains extremely realistic.

I highly recommend giving this book a go, especially if you are between the ages of 17-20, as it's a story about growing up and maturing as a person.

4/5

Damien Hirst - Natural History Series

Damien Hirst is a world famous English artist whose work I find extremely interesting. He was born in 1965 in Bristol. but grew up in Leeds and later on studied Fine art in Goldsmiths college. He first came into public attention in 1988, when he created and curated Freeze, an exhibition held in an abandoned warehouse in which his fellow Goldsmiths colleagues and him showed their work. 

Damien Hirst's $100 million diamond skull

                                              .

Hirst developed an interest in investigating the idea of death. From the early age of sixteen he would visit the anatomy lab of Leeds Medical School in order to make life drawings. In 1991 he started working in his most famous series so far, and my personal favorite, 'Natural History'. He had dead animals put in minimalist steel and glass tanks and preserved in formaldehyde - sometimes having been dissected first. His first ‘Natural History’ works were a pair of fish cabinets, created whilst studying, called ‘Isolated Elements Swimming in the Same Direction for the Purpose of Understanding’. Shortly after that ‘The Lovers’, ‘Anaesthetics (and the Way they Affect the Mind and Body)’, 'Stimulants (and the Way they Affect the Mind and Body)' and the renowned shark piece, ‘The Physical Impossibility of Death in the Mind of Someone Living’ followed.

Physical Impossibility of Death in the Mind of Someone Living (1991)

Since 1991,Damien Hirst has included animals variously divided, crucified, skinned and in positions of prayer to the series. In 2006, Hirst exhibited a triptych titled ‘The Tranquility of Solitude (for George Dyer)’ , which incorporated three flayed sheep carcasses in a remake of Francis Bacon’s ‘Triptych May–June 1973’. 

Personally, as a photography student, I find his work very influential and overall fascinating. The fact that his work is so morbid, yet so beautiful, makes you question the concept of death and the sadness that comes with it. 

Movie Review: Carrie (1976)

Carrie is adapted from a very famous Stephen King novel of the same name and let me tell you, it is awesome!

Carrie is a quite odd teenager, who is constantly being bullied and made fun of by everyone in her school. She has a ridiculously religious mother, who physically and verbally abuses her, and who is basically a nutcase. At some point, Carrie realizes she has telekinetic abilities which she eventually learns to control.

                                   

She is asked to go to to prom by one of the most popular guys in her school (who does it out of the best intentions), and they are voted King and Queen. When they go to receive their crowns, some troublemakers who hate her pour pig's blood on her in order to humiliate her. After that, chaos. Carrie basically loses her shit (that's the best way I can put it), locks everyone in the school and lets everyone burn alive. She then goes home, where her mother tries to murder her because she thinks she's possessed, but yet again, Carrie loses it, kills her mum and then brings down the house to ashes, while she is inside.

Overall, I really loved this film, I thought it was very weird and at some point it really gets uncomfortable to watch, but still remains fascinating. One of the only things I didn't appreciate was John Travolta's acting, but nonetheless I would highly recommend watching this movie, especially when with friends.

7.5/10

McBusted Tour

OMFG!

Now, most people know me as a hardcore metal fan, but truth be told Mcfly and Busted hold a very special place in my heart. I believe I was about 12 when I discovered their music and I got very hooked on it very quickly.

After Busted split in 2005, I lost interest in this kind of music and focused more on metal bands. Maybe it was due to my big brother's influence on me or maybe it was due to going through that rebellious phase everyone goes through, but nonetheless I stopped listening to Mcfly, Busted etc. It was only after I came to uni in 2010 that I rediscovered my love for them. I bought the albums, I learned the songs on guitar and, I'm not gonna lie, I 'fell in love' with Dougie yet again.

Unfortunately, when Mcfly celebrated their 10th year anniversary with a couple of awesome shows at the Royal Albert Hall, I was out of the country, which was devastating for me.. But now, now they're going on tour.. with Busted! Well, 2/3 of Busted, but it'll still be awesome! I'm beyond excited, as I've never seen either live before and, I have to admit, I'm fangirling even though I'm a 20 year old, quite mature individual..

I'm pretty sure I'll get to relive my childhood in the most awesome way possible. 

Roll on April 2014!

Onision: Crazy or Genius?

Right, first of all I should probably clarify that I'm a fairly new subscriber, so I don't know a whole lot about the guy and I don't plan on stalking cuz you know.. that's just creepy.


                            

From what I gathered so far, there's been a lot of drama in this dude's life, which he dealt with in a certain way and I guess people think he's a psycho because of that, which is ridiculous. Each person deals with pain in a different way, you can't judge someone based on his reaction to things.

I understand that he was married to someone who cheated on him and got pregnant with another man's baby which lead to a divorce and her being a dick and still collecting money off him due to not getting a prenuptial contract. While she was having a so-called mental break down in which she threatened to kill herself and frame him, he decided to film her in order to have evidence if she did attempt anything. He then uploaded the video online for a short period of time and then decided to take it down, but people had already downloaded it and is still online to this day. Viewers keep saying that filming her wasn't an appropriate thing to do, and keep blaming him for her meltdown but in my opinion he just did what anyone should do in that situation which is make sure they have evidence of what was happening in case anything went wrong.

Onision was also friends with multiple famous Youtubers such as Shane Dawson, Swiftkaratechop and Cyr, but eventually decided to end those friendships for whatever reasons. People judge him on that aswell, saying he can't maintain proper relationships with people and keep asking exactly what happened between him and the other Youtubers, which is not a very nice thing to do. Surely at the end of any friendship people get hurt, one way or another, but when you have thousands of people needing explanations it can really take a toll on you.

                    
Undeniably he has an odd sense of humor, some people like it, some don't. Sometimes he acts like a nutcase, which encourages people to call him a psycho. Personally I find him very entertaining and quite like OnisionSpeaks which is a channel in which he talks about his life and shares his thoughts. The main reason why I feel people keep calling him insane is that he is very open about his life and experiences he had, and is very graphic as to what happened in specific situations. People tend to not understand why he did/does certain things, which can lead a more immature audience to make fun of what they don't understand, as people do.

What I really like about Onision is that he takes full advantage of all the bad things that happened to him and doesn't really let them bring him down. He entertains people with all these crazy stories, and maybe teaches them a thing or two about what it's like to be surrounded by shitty people. He makes the most of the situations he finds himself in, therefore I declare him a genius.