Talking Nonsense When I Should Be Revising

Hey! 

I am just watching videos on Youtube and reading when really I should be revising. But revising is no fun. 

Anyway, I just want to talk about something really weird that happened today. It's been snowing and hailing on and off all day. Seriously, it's mid-March and snowing. -insert scientific reasoning- But it's insane! Apart from that, I received a letter from my GP's medical centre wishing me a Happy Birthday (my birthday is two weeks away). No, it doesn't stop there. It gets weirder. They also attached two A4 posters on "Improving your self esteem". I mean: really... WHAT?! -weirdly shocked face- I really don't see what turning 16 has to do with your self esteem of anything. Apparently according to my mum, it's cute. I mean, it is quite funny. BUT WEIRD! 

Oh oh OH! I watched Cloud Atlas during the weekend! It's such a good movie! It is also very weird and disturbing at the same time. Nonetheless, the story about Frobisher was so touching and heartbreaking at the same time. It sort of tore my heart out at the end. Ben Whishaw was amazing, such a great actor. Seriously, I recommend watching the film. It's good, but beware it's rated 15 and there are disturbing bits. Cloud Atlas Sextet is a beautiful piece of music. It's stunningly beautiful. I learnt how to play it on the piano and I love it. Now go and Youtube it. Listen to it and you will see how beautiful it is. 

Films! In My 10 Days Holiday

Hey! First thing first, it snowed again. Yes, it snowed 2 days ago and it's still covered with snow everywhere. It's rather boring because 1. It obstruct vehicles and 2. It's a pain when it melts. Second thing first, or is it first thing second? One of it must work. Anyway, -thumbs up- for berries smoothies! Yeah, I had like 2 yesterday? Like giant cups and they are delicious. Then I had chocolate ice-cream cone today, I am not much of a person for diet and eating healthy. 

Nevertheless, let's talk about... MURDERS! -insert rainbow background-. Okay, I am just messing with you. That was lifted from the Persona 4 comic dub. Seriously, let's talk about... MOVIES! When you get a 10 days worth of quality break and you are a huge movie addict and it's the Oscars tonight... Yep, watching a load of movies happens. It's a shame I can't watch the Oscars live, but I still get to know the results tomorrow and hopefully want it when I get home. I like going off topic so let's talk about 2013 Oscars Best Picture nominations for the time being. I can talk about my other movies after this.

There are 9 movies nominated and I have watched about... 3? So that's about a third, it's not that bad. I have seen:

• Les Miserables = 8.8 / 10
• Life of Pi = 8.7 / 10
• Beasts of the Southern Wild = 8.2 / 10

They are 3 excellent movies but I also wanted to see Amour, Lincoln and Silver Linings Playbook. French films are a bit of a hit of miss. I still have to see Amelie but my mum says it's amazing. See? I went off topic again! I am great at doing it. I will watch those movies though. Just on a side note, Anne Hathaway deserves that Oscars. My family and I just made predictions for all the categorises and we are totally battling out to see who wins, even though none of us have seen all the movies. Oh well, it's fun anyway.  

Let's have a look at all the movies I have seen recently! (They are not going to be in long details and cutting out the storyline because that would take forever.)

Wreck-It Ralph

Genre: Animation, Comedy, Adventure

Film Rating: PG

Starring (Voice): John C. Reilly, Sarah Silverman, Jack McBrayer, Jane Lynch

Running Time: 108 minutes

This. Is. The. Best. Animation. Movie. EVER! On many many MANY different levels. It's a quality animation movie which you don't really see now-a-days. I just love this movie. Even if you are not into video games, like me, still, WATCH IT! It's heart-warming and awesome. I admit that I even started to tear up near the end even though I know what would happen. I hope it wins the animation Oscar.  

Rating: 9.2 / 10

So Undercover

Genre: Action, Comedy, Romance

Film Rating: 12A

Starring: Miley Cyrus, Jeremy Piven, Joshua Bowman, Lauren McKnight, Eloise Mumford

Running Time: 94 minutes

To say it bluntly, I have no idea why I decided to watch it. Seriously. I don't particularly like or dislike Miley Cyrus. It's cliché and predictable. There wasn't actually any hope of it being a good movie. But still, I watched it. I must say, it's not all that bad and a complete waste of time. Don't take it as good because it wasn't. It was all cliché and predictable and not great. It's basically a college version of Miss Congeniality. If you are looking for a cheesy, have time to waste on a "Rom-Com", go for it. Just don't expect anything. Miley Cyrus was a whole lot better in The Last Song. 

Rating: 5.4 / 10

I mentioned that I watched Breaking Dawn Part 1 and 2 in my last post so I don't bother talking about them again. I usually watch East Asian (Chinese, Hong Kong, Japanese, Korean) movies with my family. So let's get into those. 

Cold War (寒戰)

Genre: Action, Drama, Mystery

Starring: Aaron Kwok, Tony Leung, Andy Lau, Charlie Yeung, Gordon Lam

Running Time: 102 minutes

This movie has it all. Drama, suspense and great actors. It's one of those movie you should definitely watch even if you are not into the whole police thing. It's a super recommend from my mum and uncle.

Rating: 8.7 / 10

Natural Born Lovers (天生愛情狂)

Genre: Romance, Comedy, Drama

Starring: Julian Cheung, Annie Liu, Oscar Leung, Anna Kay, Mandy Wong

Running Time: 106 minutes

Yes, it's another rom-com. This one was sort of refreshing. I don't like any of the director's works but this one was half decent. It has a nice idea. Considering the poor Hong Kong rom-com film industry, this one is quite good. I liked it at least. But it was still creepy. You have been warned. 

Rating: 7.4 / 10

Journey to the West: Conquering the Demons (西遊·降魔篇)

Genre: Action, Martial Art, Comedy, Fantasy, Adventure

Starring: Huang Bo, Shu Qi, Wen Zhang, Show Luo

Running Time: 110 minutes

Yay! It's a Stephen Chow movie. That is as good as it gets. It's a hugely disappointing movie considering it smashed the Chinese box-office. It should be funny but there is about 2 scenes of 2 minutes which is vaugely amusing. Stephen Chow's last movie was CJ 7 and that was terrible. This is better but still a bad movie. I mean, Stephen Chow is such a comedic legend! I did sort of watch the movie because Show Luo had a tiny part. The must amusing part for me was when the enormous fish ate the little girl.

Rating: 5.2 / 10

I said I have seen quite a few films in 10 days but all in all... -counting- 10. Oh! I have 10! Ha! That's like 1 film per day. Hmmmmmmmmm.... I am totes awesome.

Torturing hell, also known as school starts again tomorrow so I will probably be busy again. -frown- But I will keep posting. I do have a music post saved up for tomorrow. I promise I will have one. When I make a promise, I keep it. Talk to ya soon~

Spectacular Silver Screen - Top 5: Films I MUST SEE In 2013

---I just thought I should mention that I have changed the segment title slightly. Spectacular sounded better than wonderful.---

Films! Oh don't you just love movies?! Imagine living without cinema, and the beauty of movies. Yes, it's probably as awful as you have imagined. I should stop making things sound bad. But seriously, it's movie time! Sort of. 2012 had amazing movies, but 2013 ones are just as exciting. Yes, I am going to be going on and on about the 5 movies that I personally am really looking forward to seeing this year. Seeing as everyone is looking forward to 

• Thor: The Dark World 
• Man of Steel
• Star Trek Into Darkness 
• The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug 
• Iron Man 3

I am not going to include them in my top 5 MUST SEE! Because who doesn't want to watch those?! (And everyone love Benedict Cumberbatch.) 

This long poster looks stunning! (I am sure it's 3 posters put into 1)

1. Oz: The Great and Powerful

Genre: Fantasy, Action, Adventure

Starring: James Franco, Mila Kunis, Rachel Weisz, Michelle Williams, Joey King

Storyline: Oscar Diggs, a small-time circus magician is hurled away from dusty Kansas to the vibrant Land of Oz. Facing three enchantresses Theodora, Evanora and Glinda, he must use his wits and magic to convince everyone that he is the great wizard they have been expecting as the three witches all have plans for him.

I simply can not express in words how much I am looking forward to this movie. IT LOOKS SO AWESOME! The graphics look stunning. I am a huge fan of James Franco. I mean, look at him. He is fit and talented. I know you are nodding in agreement. It also have 3 amazing actresses. Even if I am not a big fan of Michelle Williams, she looks really pretty as the good witch and I can't wait to see her performance. 

Here are some awesome promotional posters: 

2. Beautiful Creatures

Genre: Fantasy, Romance, Drama

Starring: Alden Ehrenreich, Alice Englert, Jeremy Irons, Viola Davis, Emmy Rossum

Storyline: Ethan longs to escape his small Southern town. He meets a mysterious new girl, Lena. Together, they uncover dark secrets about their respective families, their history and their town.

Erin and I are DYING to see this. OH MY GOSH! The trailer looked fantastic! Seriously, I actually screamed at my laptop: "I MUST GO SEE THIS!" when I finished the trailer. The plot just looks amazing. I know it's based on the book with the same title and I wish I have read it. I really want to read it but I never got around to doing so. I wish I could finish the book before I watch the movie, but the book is 500+ pages long! I don't have time to read that in a month, which is really sad. (Plus I haven't read a book longer than 400 pages in years.) This movie have brilliant actors. I haven't seen Emmy Rossum in a movie in ages. I liked her. I can't wait to see her character who looks so badass! This isn't really related to the movie, but I love Lena's dress in this poster. It looks so beautiful. Okay, this version doesn't show the entire dress. But I am telling you, it's a gorgeous dress. 

I found this poster strangely amusing.

3. Warm Bodies

Genre: Comedy, Horror, Romance

Starring: Nicholas Hoult, Teresa Palmer, Rob Corddry, John Malkovich, Dave Franco

Storyline: After a zombie becomes involved with the girlfriend of one of his victims, their romance sets in motion a sequence of events that might transform the entire lifeless world. 

Comedy Horror is such a messed up genre. It's one of the, if not the most messed up genre ever! I watched Fright Night (2011) a few weeks ago and it was a Comedy Horror. It was a hilarious movie. (My little sister got so freaked out and scared throughout the movie, it was quite amusing.) Anyway, Warm Bodies's trailer looked impressive. It looks awesome. Enough said. I am not sure why, but the story is sort of sweet in my opinion. I am sure Nicholas Hoult and Teresa Palmer will be amazing, from what I have seen in the trailer. I found out this was based on the book and I debated whether to read it or not. I don't think I will, because apparently the book is not entirely great. I can't wait to see the movie though.

4. The Mortal Instruments: City of Bones

Genre: Fantasy, Action, Adventure, Romance

Starring: Lily Collins, Jamie Campbell Bower, Robert Sheehan, Kevin Zegers, Lena Headey

Storyline: When her mother is attacked and taken from their home in New York City by a demon, a seemingly ordinary teenage girl, Clary Fray, finds out truths about her history and bloodline on her quest to get her back which changes her entire life. 

I am so glad this is coming out in the UK in the summer. I know I can't wait for this movie to come out and summer seems like a while away. However, City of Bones is on my to-read list. Given these few months, I am sure I can finish the book before the movie comes out. Hooray for that. I prefer to read the book before seeing the movie, but I never get round to it. Although I am determined this time. I am not a huge fan of Lily Collins but she looked quite good in the trailer. I know some people don't think it does the book justice, but I think as a fantasy movies, it looks excellent. 

5. Jack the Giant Slayer

Genre: Adventure, Drama, Fantasy

Starring: Nicholas Hoult, Ewan McGregor, Stanley Tucci, Bill Nighy, Eleanor Tomlinson

Storyline: A modern day fairy tale in which the long-standing peace between men and giants is threatened, as a young farmer boy leads an expedition into the giants' kingdom in hopes of rescuing a kidnapped princess.

The trailer looked hilarious. Trailers does a lot to movies. This one really did it for me. I wasn't particularly planning on going to see this, but after the trailer, I really want to see it. Nicholas Hoult looks like a cool Jack, regardless of my sister saying he is camp or not. Plus this movie has Bill Nighy. He is just pure awesomeness. 

There are also other movies that are also worth mentioning: 

• Lincoln - This looks like a movie I will be watching with my mum. She likes movies like this. (I think...)
• Hansel & Gretel: Witch Hunters - I love dark takes on any fairy tales. That includes Hansel & Gretel. Plus Witch Hunters make them sound so kick-ass! 
• G.I. Joe: Retaliation - WHAT HAPPEN TO CHANNING TATUM?! I am actually quite angry that Channing Tatum doesn't have a main part in this. I was fine when they have   a whole new cast, no Sienna Miller and Joseph Gordn-Levitt. But taking Channing Tatum out is just too far for me. I loved G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra. It's not my favourite film but I love watching all the action in it. I am just watching Retaliation for the action, I hoped for more from it though. 
• The Host - I have never read the book. It's too long and apparently it's not all that good. But I really want to watch this because 1. Saoirse Ronan is a fantastic actress and 2. Max Irons is really cute. They look like a great couple in the movie.

Those are my MUST SEEs. What movies are you looking forward to watching in 2013?

Best of 2012!

It's the last day of 2012. I have my mixed feelings. 2012 has overall been bittersweet. I AM looking forward to 2013. I hope good things will happen. (Plus I turn 16.)

Let's have a pretty watch picture to kick start this long blog post.

So, I am just going to ramble on at you guys and talk about all the things or changes that happened this past year. I am going to miss out all the bad stuff because frankly, I have forgotten most of it.

In March, I officially went from 14 to 15. And it was the most awesome birthday ever! My friends, who are all totally epic people, threw me a surprise party! (It was on a Saturday because my birthday was on a weekday.) It was amazing. I had no idea and we all went out to Nando's for nice food and went and saw the Hunger Games when it came out. You guys know I love my bessies (Erin and Beth). My parents also threw me a surprise. They (and my sister) gave me an ipad! The new ipad (3) that came out near my birthday. It's white. I LOVE white electronics. It's my thing. All my electronics got to be white. It's currently in a blue Hello Kitty case. But it's dying. So I need to get a new one soon. It was like the best 15th birthday ever!

I had a HUGE haircut in mid-March. I love my long hair. I have (near) always had long hair. That's like the only thing anyone compliments me on, that I have pretty hair. So something happened and I just decided I need to big haircut. Before the cut, my hair was just a little above my hip. Then I had a huge haircut. The hairdresser I had was actually shocked I wanted to cut it. Afterwards, it was just a bit below my shoulders and I got a side fringe. So woo~ for a big girl haircut!

I passed my piano exam and my music theory during the summer. So glad that's over. I hate exams. They are evil and should die. (Personification, GO!)

Oh, my baby sister turned 13 this year! Aww, she is finally a teenager. But it's a shame she is still like mentally 7. Nah, she liked being 13 and an official teenager. But seriously, she is the most annoying thing like ever.

Favourite Manga this year: Katekyo Hitman Reborn!

It caused me great sorrow when it finished. Yes, I was very close to tears, as are many KHR fans. It is an absolutely awesome manga and it has the greatest graphics and I JUST FRICKING LOVE IT! The ending was disappointing but I will nevertheless love it. I also like the anime but it's nothing compared to the brilliance of the manga. If you haven't even heard of it, YOU ARE MISSING OUT BIG TIME (and you have not lived.)

I also started reading again this year. Like reading YA frictions in my free time. But, since I haven't read in ages... I can count the number of books I read this year with my fingers.

• Divergent by Veronica Roth
• Yesterday's Sun by Amanda Brooke
• Dash & Lily's Book of Dares by Rachel Cohn & David Levithan
• Snowed Over by Angie Staton

Don't worry, I have a enormous YA to-read list that I will eventually complete. I did try to read the Hunger Games, since I loved the movie and everyone love the trilogy. I have the book but I just can't get past the first 18 pages. It just didn't have me hooked. Yes, I love and prefer Divergent. That book was amazing.

Favourite TV Show: How I Met Your Mother & Once Upon A Time

I LOVE THESE TWO SHOWS! They are actually my all time favourite shows. I spent the entire summer watching all 7 seasons of HIMYM and season 1 of OUAT. I am still following the show and it's sad that everything is on winter hiatus. But seriously, I can not express how much I love these shows in just words.

I moved house this year. Cleaning and packing was hell but I love my new room. So it's all good.

NEW PHONE! Can't believe I didn't mention this earlier. I had quite a bad phone for a year and a half. But I love my new phone. It's the Nokia Lumia 900 in white. I don't know why it gets all the crap for being a windows 8 phone but in my opinion, it's a good phone. 

My favourite music list is way too long! So I will just let you enjoy all the Music Madness Monday and the ones to come. Because as I have said, music is my life.

My favourite movie list is also far too long. So, I will just mention some like... The Amazing Spider-Man, The Avengers, Pitch Perfect... etc. And I joined the Young Tyneside Programmers this year. It's awesome because it's all about movies. So yay for that. 

I am a huge nail polish junkie. So I am more than happy that this year, my nail polish collection double in size! My favourite nail polish I got this year is either any of my magnetic ones or OPI Skyfall. But I am still a black, taupe or light pink nail polish girl. 

Last but definitely not least... THIS BLOG! I started this blog this year and I am really happy I did. I really enjoy blogging and it's super fun. I love all the people who would take time to read my blog. I am looking forward to continuing this blog next year, I have tons more to write. This blog and my deviantart account has been websites that entertained my boredom this year.

That is all. Wow, it really was a long post. I have enjoyed 2012 a lot and I look forward to the fun of 2013!

A sparkle to summarise the magic of a year.

Happy New Year! 

Love, Ka-Ching xxx

Wonderful Silver Screen: 4 Seen. 2 Going to See

2 weeks (exactly) of holiday gives me a lot of time to spend on nothing. So, since I am a huge movie person... I did spent most of it watching movies and sometimes TV series. Some were old and some were more recent. So here are some movies that I saw that came out recently. ^_^ (Hope you like the okay-ish segment title!)

4 Seen

1. The Iron Lady 

Genre: Biography, Drama, History 

Starring: Meryl Streep, Jim Broadbent, Alexandra Roach, Harry Lloyd

Storyline: An Elderly Margaret Thatcher talks to the imagines presence of her recently deceased husband as she struggles to come to terms with his death while scenes from her life, from girlhood to British prime minister, intervene. 

Awesomeness: Great acting. Oscar-winners. 

Not-so-awesomeness: It's a biography which means it's rather flat and dull, dry. 

Rating: 7.1 / 10 

2. The Odd Life of Timothy Green

Genre: Comedy, Drama, Fantasy

Starring: Jennifer Garner, Joel Edgerton, CJ Adams, Odeya Rush, Rosemarie DeWitt

Storyline: A childless couple bury a box in their backyard, containing all of their wishes for an infant. Soon, a boy is born, though Timothy Green is not all that he appears. 

Awesomeness: Good family movies. Touching, poignant. 

Not-so-awesomeness: WHY ARE ALL CHINESE ORPHAN GIRLS CALLED LILY?! Sorry, but it's just annoyiong. Another thing, the kid was like... 10? He fell in love?! A little young in my opinion. 

Rating: 6.5 / 10

3. The Five-Year Engagement 

Genre: Romance, Comedy

Starring: Jason Segel, Emily Blunt, Chris Pratt, Alison Brie, Jacki Weaver

Storyline: One year after meeting, Tom proposes to his girlfriend, Violent. But unepected events keep tripping them up as they look to walk down the aisle together, over a 5 years period. 

Awesomness: Jason Segel is one of my favourite actor (since I love How I Met Your Mother). A sweet rom-com. It has an awesome wedding at the end.

Not-so-awesomeness: 5 years is a bit too dragged on. There were too many "sex" scenes. 

Rating: 7.1 / 10

4. Midnight in Paris

Genre: Romance, Comedy, Fantasy

Starring: Owen Wilson, Rachel McAdams, Michael Sheen, Nina Arianda, Corey Stoll

Storyline: While on a trip to Paris with his fiance's family, a nostalgic screenwriter finds himself mysteriously going back to the 1920s everyday at midnight.

This is my first Woody Allen film. I am not sure if I should be ashamed or not that I have never seen a Woody Allen film before. I watched this movie with my mother and she said at the end that it's a brilliant movie, considering that recent Woody Allen films has gone pear-shaped. She hasn't seen one in ages, and apparently the old ones are quite good. I liked this movie, not quite sure how much. 

This movie did one thing for me that I am absolutely delighted about. Tom Hiddleston was F. Scott Fitzgerald! You are probably wondering why I am so happy about that. That's because I have to read The Great Gatsby as part of my English Literature set text. People are going to say how good the book is but I am going to be spending at least 2 months studying it. Knowing Tom Hiddleston (who is awesome) was Fitzgerald made my day. Another thing, Erin, who I have mentioned before, she is an-absolute-video-games-nerd (and proud) nearly screamed in the lesson, when we got the book, and found out that Zelda was Fitzgerald's wife. She loves any Zelda games. It was actually quite hilarious that she freaked out.

Awesomeness: The Fitzgeralds. TIME TRAVEL (I love anything related to time travelling).

Not-so-awesomeness: Woody Allen's style takes a while to get used to. The modern characters, e.g. Inez (Rachel McAdams), is annoying and bitchy. 

Rating: 8.0 / 10

2 Going to See

Rise of the Guardians

Genre: Animation, Adventure, Comedy

Starring (voice): Chris Pine, Alec Baldwin, Jude Law, Hugh Jackman, Isla Fisher

Storyline: When an evil spirit known as Pitch lays down the gauntlet to take over the world, the immortal Guardians must join forces for the first time to protect the hopes, beliefs, and imaginations of children all over the world. 

I am a huge sucker for good, funny animation movies that are not Disney. This one looks amazing! I am so looking forward to see it. The trailer looks hilarious. Plus Jack Frost is like one of the most good looking animated character! And hey! You don't see a lot of Santas with tattoos. 

Les Miserables

Genre: Musical, Drama, Romance

Starring: Hugh Jackman, Russewl Crowe, Anne Hathaway, Amanda Seyfried, Samantha Barks

Storyline: In 19th-century France, Jean Valjean, who for decades has been hunted by the ruthless policeman Javert after he breaks parole, agrees to care for factory worker Fantine's daughter, Cosette. The fateful decision changes their lives forever. (If you don't know the plot to Les Mis, you should be ashamed.)

This just looks amazing! The trailer does so much to a movie. I am just lost for words to say how much I am looking forward to see this movie. I am just going to say: I MUST SEE THIS!

I am ill at the moment so I am going to go back to drinking my tea and watch more movies.

Sayonara! 

Movie? Madness Monday: Pitch Perfect

Yeah yeah, it's Monday and it's suppose to be music. But I haven't really been music-ing that much for the past week and I thought: well, movie begins with a M. I know film is better? I like movie though, they mean the same thing. So, since I watched a movie on Saturday and it was great and I don't have any music things to say...... new segment! and yes, it's called Movie Madness Monday. Actually, less of a new segment and more of Madness Monday can swap between movie and music. 

Pitch Perfect

#GETPITCHSLAPPED

Release: 2012

Genre: Music, Comedy, Romance

Starring: Anna Kendrick, Brittany Snow, Skylar Astin, Rebel Wilson, Anna Camp

Storyline: The Barden Bellas are a collegiate, all-girls a cappella singing group thriving on female pop songs and their perfect looks. After a disastrous failing at last year's finals, they are forced to regroup. Among the new recruits is freshman Beca, an independent, aspiring DJ with no interest in the college life. But after she meets Jesse, from the rival all-male a cappella group, Beca has a new outlook and takes it upon herself to help the Bellas find their new look and sound and get back into the competition.

This movie is so random and strange but oddly hilarious. I actually had a great time watching this. Although it was predictable, it was overall very enjoyable. The predictable aspect maybe due to the fact that I have seen a lot of rom-com and they get VERY predictable since they are all the same. Like the plot line goes:

Normal--Increase in happiness--PEAK--Decrease by 30%--Goes back up and TADA! Happily every after

It's probably easier to understand if you draw a line on a graph, but I am too lazy to bother with that. 

Beca and Jesse in the movie were just so cute! I was awwww-ing at the end cos it was adorable. Watch it, then you would know what I mean. 

I loved Anna Kendrick in it. I didn't know she can sing, and she was really good! I like her normally but the character and her was such a good match, she did an amazing job. I feel like I haven't seen Brittany Snow in a movie in ages. That is probably just me but she was great. Not really used to her with the browny hair though. 

Awesomeness: Singing. Hilarious. Just odd.

Not-so-awesomeness: Predictable. Weird and awkward.

Rating: 7.8 / 10

Guess what? YOU JUST GOT INCEPTIONED! Sorry, that was a bit dramatic. But seriously, I said I changed it to movie but the movie is about music! HA! I am just so awesome like this.