Autumn Sky

If you don’t remember, I rated Funny Games as something to make you look forward to 2008. For me, it was something that did make me look forward to this year. I’ve been waiting for this movie to be released ever since 2007. My expectations were exceeded for this film. It is a remake of the 1997 German film Funny Games, both with the same director (Michael Haneke). I have yet to see the German version, but I would really like to.

Summery: This film begins with the typical American family who go out to their cabin for vacation. When stopping to chat with their neighbors, they notice that the neighbors are acting odd around two new guests. The plot slowly moves on when Anne (the mother, played by Naomi Watts) is confronted with one of the first guests who asks to borrow eggs. He clumsily ends up breaking eight eggs before the next guess arrives along with the father and the son. The two young men (Peter and Paul) attack the father and break his leg. They then make a bet with the family that the family will not be alive tomorrow by 9 o’clock.

Rating: Four stars out of Five This was a superbly written and directed psychological thriller. It reminds me of Red Eye and the French film Merci Pour le Chocolat, if you enjoyed those two films you will also enjoy Funny Games. I must warn you, this movie is not Black Dahlia, Saw, or Hostel. Don’t expect fast pace scenes with blood and gore. This is an intelligent movie, and will not be received well by the typical movie goer. If you have already seen the movie Read the rest of this entry »

When you think of environmentalist, what do you think of? Me, I think of a granola eating, tennis shoes wearing, dreadlocks sporting feminist. The combination of stereotype tree hugger with “it’s just too out of the way” hinders many people from environmentalism. The truth is, there are so many easy ways to help the environment that aren’t out of the way.

So, can you wear high heels and lips gloss and still care about the planet? Yes.

Sprig

What it has: Food Fashion Beauty Home and Lifestyle
What it is: Sprig is an eco-friendly online store, whose goal is to provide the public with easily change lives to be more environmentally friendly! Read the rest of this entry »

Contains some spoilers, but this is the kind of movie you should be warned about.

I’m not the biggest fan of Stephen King, simply because he can go a little too far in some of his novels. And although I don’t like how twisted he can get; I do have to say the man can capture humanity and personality. You either love or hate his characters, no in betweens. I was first interested in his work when I saw Kingdom Hospital, a television series well worth the time and money to view.

After reading several good reviews on this film, I decided to see it. Every blog and every review I’ve read did not have me prepared for what this movie is really about. From beginning to end, every review stated, “A good thriller” or “a must see” or “if you like twist endings, you’ll love this movie”. For anyone who is considering seeing this film simply from hearsay, I urge you to watch the trailer first. The summary of the film doesn’t even express its true nature or message.

After a violent storm attacks a town in Maine, an approaching cloud of mist appears the next morning. As the mist quickly envelops the area, a group of people get trapped in a local grocery store -among them, artist David Drayton and his five-year-old son. The people soon discover that within the mist lives numerous species of horrific, unworldly creatures that entered through an inter-dimensional rift, which may or may not have been caused by a nearby military base. As the world around them manifests into a literal hell-on-earth, the horrified citizens try desperately to survive this apocalyptic disaster.

This isn’t about inter-dimensional creatures, nor is it a thriller I have ever seen. Most movies like Night of the Living Dead convey their message through vague metaphors. The thrillers I’ve seen are on subjects that have already been scrutinized and reheard. Creatures such as zombies, werewolfs, or vampires don’t come close to the intense creativity in The Mist. I would dare to say, I’m as frightened or even more frightened than I was after seeing War of the Worlds. Read the rest of this entry »

In my last entry I poked fun at the End World Hunger ribbons so many people (*coughn00bscough*) put in the upper corners of the websites? Well, as luck would have it I found this website that can help me in my contribution to end world poverty and not include that ridiculous ribbon on my website.

The website is Freerice.com. Freerice allows anyone to visit the site and donate rice to people in need for free. How does it work? Well, this is the cool part. Freerice doesn’t only help end world hunger, it also helps educate. It’s a game that builds your vocabulary and challenges your mind. You may be familiar with it if you’ve ever taken an English test. It’s a simple game of anagrams. The levels increase with 5 correct answers. For one correct answer you donate 20 grains of rice to the UN to distribute to people in need. What could be cooler than that? So far my highest level has been 32 and I’ve donated 2340 grains of rice. I challenge anyone to beat this score without using external help (wikipedia, dictionary.com, et cetera). I’m sure it’s not the highest score, but I’m a little proud of it. I have to admit, the “game” itself is a little addicting.

I do have a concern with “ending world hunger”, simply because hunger isn’t something that can end. Hunger is something that will continue forever, not matter what. I also don’t like the movement because of the motivations of some of the people who support it, mostly my peers. It is almost as if people support this and anti-globalwarming movements because it’s trendy. Please remember that when you set out to do something like this, do it because you want to help people not be trendy. Also, remember to fully research any movement or group that you’re supporting.

To see more about helping others around the world, visit Poverty.com.

Now playing: My Chemical Romance - The Sharpest Lives

It seems like so many good things are happening for me lately. To tell you the truth, a year ago I never thought anything like this would be possible. I guess college, even if it’s just a dinky community college, changes someone. It’s so different from high school. Now, it doesn’t feel like the day took forever to go by; my days feel incredibly short and action packed. I love the people I meet and I even love my classes (so far). I thought today’s entry would be interesting if I listed some things I’ve done that have made me feel like I have much more control over my life.

1. Make a budget and stick to it.
To a college student, it’s really important that you’re frugal. Take advantage of every free sample or every free car ride you can get. Order water when you go out to lunch. Make sure you know how much is in your bank account and always check before you buy something.

2. Live by your planner.
A lot of people I know don’t realize how important keeping a planner is. Make sure you write down your assignments, due dates, work and class times, and every thing you have to and want to get done. I promise you, I don’t care if you’re Samuel L. Jackson, you will forget something important if you don’t use your planner.

3. Find a mentor.
Talk to college advisers, make friends with the professors. If your college offers a mentorship program, sign up for it! Read the rest of this entry »