The Dark Knight Rises

In one word; amazing.


I really, really really, loved it! It's so hard to write this without spoilers being in every paragraph but it seriously was awesome. One of the few movies that actually lives up to the hype people give it! And I know that some of you may disagree and say, yeah it was alright, but it wasn't that good, and fair enough to you, everyone has their own opinions. But mine will always be that it was absolutely brilliant.

Christian Bale, despite being a bit of an arse, was wonderful as Batman, as always, and managed to tone down the glass-gurgling voice (it was still a bit rough though, makes me laugh every time he shouts) and the emotional bits were spot on. Scenes with him and Michael Caine in were beautiful, made me so sad in some of them!

I love Joseph Gordon-Levitt, ever since 3rd Rock from the Sun all the way to now, he's been awesome. He's so sweet too, even though he's all grown up, he's still a cutie XD I was a little unsure of him before I watched this film, but he was possibly my favourite. He had some great lines haha. He definitely deserved the role he got - and his storyline made the movie for me. Two words - THE ENDING! Like me, it might not come as a shock to you, but it will still make your heart do a flip and scream for another movie haha.

Yes, I know, Christopher Nolan isn't doing any more Batman films, this is his offering to the Batman legend, but no one's saying no one else can offer some more. Personally, I'd love to see a Batman and Robin film, I really liked the first one (might have had a bit of a crush on the actor though ;D) and there are loads more Batman villains to show their faces. He also said he wanted to see a Catwoman spin-off, Anne Hathaway's performance was superb as her performances usually are, and after the Halle Berry Catwoman - although I do like the actress - Anne Hathaway was a sight for sore eyes. She bought a bit of Michelle Pfeiffer's Catwoman back, and that's still the Catwoman I adore. Still, as long as they keep true to the comics, a Catwoman spin-off would probably be welcomed with open arms.

Finally (saving the best til last) is Tom Hardy as Bane. I don't know what problems the critics had with their hearing, but I could hear every line just fine. Of course the mask made his voice a little more unclear than it would have been without, but it wasn't completely muffled. The way he played Bane was intense and seriously scary but utterly thrilling. As the film villains go, Heath Ledger, God bless him, did an absolutely wonderful performance as the Joker which is unforgettable and possibly unbeatable, but Tom Hardy did his best and, for me at least, he did an incredible job. Another ten out of ten for the gorgeous Mr. Hardy!

So, in conclusion, it is my film of 2012 so far. It was hard to beat Avengers, but it clawed its way up there to the top spot. It's one of those to buy when it comes out on DVD! I better start making a list...

The Stoning of Soraya M.

I watched the Stoning of Soraya M. last night. Incredible film, but also horrific to watch.

I'd still recommend it though. If you have a weak stomach or don't like the sight of blood, there is one bit you definitely want to turn away from. Sometimes I get a bit queasy watching those bits, but in this film, I simply couldn't turn away. I did flinch a couple of times, but it was one of those moments when what's on screen is so terrible you just can't take your eyes off it. I literally could not believe this was a true story.

Basically, it's about a young woman in 1980's Iran called Soraya. She's in an unhappy marriage with a man who wants a divorce so he can marry a fourteen year old girl. Soraya has four children to this man, two daughters and two older sons, the sons her husband has turned against her. That must be horrible enough, without him wanting to ditch her for a kid.

Of course, she wants to have the divorce, but for the sake of her two daughters, she can't. She doesn't have a job or any source of income and her husband does not want to pay support because he doesn't want to pay for two families. He doesn't care about what happens to her or his daughters, so long as he can get a divorce, take his sons to the city and marry a fourteen year old. The longer Soraya doesn't say okay, the more he beats her. It's terrible.

Her husband, Ali, unable to wait anymore, blackmails the Mullah (a religious official) to convince Soraya to go ahead with the divorce, but when this doesn't work, he resorts to a more malicious tactic that eventually turns her into a criminal in the eyes of her village and gets her stoned to death - hence the title.

I'm not going to sugarcoat it for you, it really is a heart-breaking movie to watch. Not like soppy romance films such as Dear John or Remember Me, a real heart-breaker. It makes you hate society, hate the people involved, and worry about the lack of common sense in such religious places. But, like I said before, it's one of those inspirational movies you have to watch. One of the greats. If you ever get a chance to rent it from somewhere, do it. I'd recommend getting a really happy film for afterwards, but trust me on this one and watch this film!

Huge thanks to my boyfriend for introducing it to me. I wasn't entirely sure if I was happy or not that he had, it was so upsetting! But now I'm okay with it, because it was a good film. The acting is brilliant too!

If you watch it, let me know what you think :)

Fanfiction

Yes, I write Draco/Hermione. No, I don't care if you have a problem with that.

♥

Personally, I think it's sweet and the basis for a really good plot! You can get boring, safe ones like Hermione and Ron or Harry, well, if it's Harry you can have the whole best friend dilemma, but seriously, it's boring. There are really weird ones like Hermione and Snape (WHAT?!) also, Ginny. Basically anyone. But if it's not boring, weird or simply uninteresting as a pairing, it's Draco/Hermione.

I've read some very creative, well-written ones and seriously fallen in love with the characters. On Fanfiction.net and a few other sites where this author's archived her work, there's a story called the Bracelet. I've read that so many times, and each time, I get so emotional haha. The author's planned it out brilliantly, she did a few chapters ahead and knew the plot right from the off, so there were no plot holes or anything. That's the writer I aspire to be!

So anyway, my new one is archived on Granger Enchanted, which is a cool website. Each story has to be authorized by an admin, so they make sure it's good quality. They can plainly say no, it's not very good, but tend to be nice and help you make it better. They will tell you if there's a problem with the plot, characterization or even grammar can stop it from being authorized. They're that strict. The submission rules are the most in-depth I've ever seen, so it makes a great website, because you can be sure that just about everything you read is first-rate (Also, mine was approved first time - woo! I'm awesome)

It's called If You Could Be Anywhere, which is, like my blog, a song by Tom Felton. It makes for a good title, shush. So far, the reviews I've had have said it's well written, well thought out and has a good plot. They've all said they want to read more! I'm so happy. I always reply to my reviewers, I try to make them detailed so the reviewer knows I love that they enjoy my story and I am super grateful for each review. All of their words are like literary motivation! :D

Here's a bit from the first chapter. If you like what you see here, don't be afraid to go to Granger Enchanted, search for Staceosaurusrex and drop a review ;)

He was stuck in limbo. Since the torture of Hermione Granger in his home during the summer, everything about his life had been turned upside down. Bellatrix Lestrange was beyond furious that a Malfoy would try to protect a Mudblood. He still had no idea why he did it. His father had beaten him senseless afterwards. His mother was only just able to rescue him and flee the manor before the Dark Lord came to deliver a worse punishment. 

Since then, Narcissa and Draco Malfoy had been under the protection of the Order of the Phoenix. Lucius Malfoy had disappeared. Draco had no idea what had happened to him, or whether the Dark Lord was punishing him for the mistakes of his wife and son. Draco shuddered to think of the torture. Her face appeared again. The pain in her eyes... he could never go through that. 

So he tried to live as normal a life as possible while being protected so he did not have to suffer that fate. He went to school and hung around with his friends, Pansy Parkinson, Blaise Zabini and the new addition of Theodore Nott. He was a seventh year Slytherin just like Draco, yet completely different. His father was a Death Eater too, one recently sent to Azkaban. Yet he did not attempt a vendetta, he instead seemed quite happy with the outcome. He was quiet, bookish and plain looking, with pale skin, brown wavy hair and dark eyes hidden behind glasses. The only reason Draco was obliged to have him in the group was the shining badge pinned to the front of his robes. Head Boy.

Draco turned his eyes to the window to mask the jealousy. He could’ve been Head Boy! If his school life had not been interfered with, if his father was still a member of the Board... no, even without that. He was a top student – was being the operative word – before last year, he was second in every class, top if you only counted boys. Granger always beat him to top spot. Then again, he sighed, he was somewhat glad he was not Head Boy. He guessed Granger was Head Girl. That was one pairing he could do without.

Haha, get it, "That was one pairing he could do without"? Dramatic irony, *wink wink* *nudge nudge* ;) okay, it's lame, I know, but it made me giggle. Right, so giggling at your own lame jokes isn't funny... oops. Moving on, that's a bit from the first chapter, I'm working on the third, it should be uploaded soon.

You never know, this might lead to better written fame than 50 Shades of Crap - I mean - Grey. It was based on a Twilight fanfiction, which was like a big, flashing 'do not enter' sign to me. If I transformed this into a novel, it would be decent, friendly with proper literature, and not written porn for people who need to find a better class of reading.

One day, I shall provide that better class. Just you wait. And review ;)

 

Barry M Magnetic Nail Polish

I'm growing my nails, so I thought I'd treat myself.

I splashed out and bought some new nail polish yesterday. I've been wanting some for a long time but always put it off. I've tried out one of them and it looks pretty awesome, so I thought I'd write about it!

Barry M Magnetic Nail Polish - Burgundy: £4.99

Popped into Superdrug, spent about 3 hours deciding what to buy, then saw this gem! I love how Barry M have come up with these instant nail effects, so I bought two. One is this magnetic one, which sounded a little tricky, but worth the effort.

This one gives a diagonal effect (I didn't realise until after I took the photo that it didn't include the picture of the effect on the lid - oops!) It's in burgundy, but you can get a variety of other shades with different effects. Neat!

The instructions are relatively simple. 1) Shake well. 2) Apply first coat, wait to dry. 3) Apply second coat, immediately hover magnet over the nail for five seconds. Wait to dry. For my first time, it didn't work so well, so I tried again and I found that holding the magnet over your nail for a longer amount of time works better. 4) Apply topcoat. Finished!

If you've done it correctly, it looks pretty cool. I think I'd use this for nights out, or maybe work. It's quite a dark, metallic colour so, depending on the outfit, I probably wouldn't wear it in the daytime. But everyone's different, if you usually wear darker clothes, this would probably suit you down to the T :)

Anyway, here's the finished effect:

It's not the best quality photo, but it was difficult taking it by myself! As you can see, there's a definite diagonal pattern there. In person, you can really see the metallic shade of burgundy. The dark lines also make it look a little 3D as they look like they're raised.

For a quick nail effect fix, I'd recommend this. It's easy to do (as long as you have steady hands for the magnet) and looks amazing. I'm definitely wearing this for my next night out!

Ciao!

May Contain Spiderman Related Spoilers.

I had macaroni and cheese for the first time today. It looked much nicer on the Sims.

Still, it was quite nice, I'll give my grandma that. She doesn't give me badly cooked food! *lucky* It didn't come in a bowl like on the Sims though. I should try American macaroni and cheese - is that more like the Sims' portrayal? Okay, so I'm thinking into the food on the Sims too much. The other food looks pretty realistic though. Right, shutting up.

- So here's the spoiler bit, I don't know if it's actually mentioned in the new Spiderman movie but I want to be careful, I'm nice like that! - 

Someone sparked a conversation about the Amazing Spiderman at work today. I hope I surprised them with my nerd-rage knowledge when a guy in my department said it was a fake Spiderman! Haha. I got a little carried away, I must admit, it moved quite quickly from just stating it was much more truthful to Spiderman to how he ended up killing Gwen Stacy. He's such a silly boy for a science nerd, surely he knew all about where not to grab someone as they're falling? Maybe he just forgot he's stronger than normal and thought everyone could survive stuff like that...

Hey, at least he learned with MJ. Would've been unfortunate if he killed her too. 

I should really watch this new movie. The actor they got to play Peter Parker irritated me in the trailer, but I suppose it'd be worth it if it's a decent film. Plus Rhys Ifans is in it and he's amazing. Not only for his awesome portrayal as Xenophilius Lovegood in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, mind you!


He was quite good as Jed in the Enduring Love movie, even though that film was shocking and put a black mark against the actually decent book. I think it made it too innocent. The book freaked me out in parts, Jed was such a psycho. You should read it if you haven't, it's full of facts and science and stuff about poetry too, it makes a good read. Even if I only did come across it because it was part of my English Literature course...

Anyway, enough about Rhys Ifans! We talked about Tom Hardy today too, he should get the limelight at some point! Someone else at work (I'd rather not name names for their sake) now refers to him as my boyfriend. To clarify, my boyfriend looks nothing like Tom Hardy, but since I admitted how big a crush I have on the lovely looking actor, he has now earned that title. Not that it's bad or anything... ;)

So in the future, you will hopefully have my reviews on two films: The Amazing Spiderman and the Dark Knight. Tom Hardy looks as if he'll impress me as Bane, a lot more than the bonehead in the old Batman film did, or didn't, I should say.

So a pretty pointless blog I guess, but I like talking about movies and such. As I mentioned in my first blog post... maybe I should do movie reviews and stuff in this space. I watch a lot of movies.

We'll see. For now, bye!