Thursday, July 18, 2013

Snow White and the Huntsman vs. Mirror Mirror















                        VS















Surprise surprise, Snow White and the Huntsman AND Mirror Mirror are both adaptations of the classic fairy-tale Snow White/Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. So, you've pretty much got to have the usual suspects... You've got Snow White, the evil step mother/queen, the father who dies/disappears, a prince/hero (or both), the guy who's supposed to kill Snow White, and lets not forget the dwarfs!

Snow White and the Huntsman

The oh so amazing Kristen Stewart plays Snow in this rendition (yes, that IS sarcasm you read there). There was so much of hype surrounding this movie that I thought, maybe, just MAYBE, Kristen Stewart might have pulled this one off and managed to do a good job... BUT, the hype was just hype. Or maybe it was Chris Hemsworth (the huntsman) hype. He was by far thee best thing in and about the entire movie. Firstly, he's gorgeous! Whether he's holding a hammer or an ax, he is superbly awesome! And he can ACT. Stewart yet again showed us all ONE of her facial expressions. Snow is meant to be the "fairest in the land" and have a beauty and presence that is entirely pure and enchants everyone and thing around her. Stewart doesn't even as much as capture a bleh. She's far too bland and mundane and just plain abrupt and awkward, in the bad kind of way, not the weird cool kind of awkward.

Charlize Theron  as the evil queen/step-mother wasn't too bad I guess. But, I certainly wasn't blown away by the performance or anything of the sort. I preferred Julia Roberts in Mirror Mirror as the queen, but that just might be my personal bias (more on that later).

Sam Clafin as William (I think he's meant to be the prince here, he's okay I guess. We don't really see much of him at all, but I guess that's more to do with the direction of the story... However, when he is on screen he doesn't seem to have much of a presence (that might have something to do with the presence of Hemsworth which is pretty much impossible to compete with). Or to really do much. William seems to just BE there for the mere need of having to be... He floats around the background of scenes and even when he tries to stand up he lets his father strong arm him. When it comes to this role I'm not really sure if Clafin made the character small or if the character was just too little for him to work with...

The dwarfs were kind of ragged and scruffy. I didn't think very much of them, but I guess they weren't horrible... *shoulder shrug*

Mirror Mirror

This is my first encounter with Lily Collins and I quite like her. She's cute as well as pretty. She has an innocence about her which makes seeing her as a pure creature and the 'saviour of the land' as well as 'fairest in the land' as a very real and highly possible possibility. COLLINS has that charm and essence to captivate the people and her surroundings. She is also witty and fun loving and more than able to defend herself. She looks like a princess and future queen and shows the character of someone I would trust to rule over the nation. The only flaw, to me, were her eyebrows. They are just so THICK! Okay, so my eyebrows aren't perfect or anything, but if I were to make it onto a movie that millions of people worldwide were to see, I'd certainly want to get my eyebrows done (just saying).It distracted me throughout the movie (but fear not, my observations and opinions are all sound). 

Julia Roberts as the queen was simply superb. She had such grace and poise and carried of the role so well. Apparently the director's intention was for the queen to be more insecure than evil, and I think she pulled this off well. We see it in her need to be beautiful and the lengths to which she goes to to look good and young (not just the actual stealing of youth and the magic, but with the baths and insane looking insect type things... Urgh! (shivers). Also Roberts is just so beautiful! *sigh*

Armie Hammer as the prince is quite charming and also rather comical. Its entertaining to see a prince in a comic role instead of as the "knight in shining armour" (though this has become common lately, its still fun to watch - every time). A prince who is captured by dwarfs, goes before the queen in mud strewn tattered and torn fragments of clothing, and also gets into sword fights with the princess... - Nothing short of a "charming" watch.

The DWARFS! Are super awesome. They are funny, cute and quirky. The dwarfs of Mirror Mirror bring quite a presence to the movie and are more than entertaining. Half Pint (one of the dwarfs) certainly adds some flavour to the soup with his little crush on Snow and his complete denial of her feelings towards the prince.

All in all...

When it comes down to it, is it even really a contest? Is there really even a question in your mind about it?

Lily Collins is a better Snow White than Kristen Stewart (seriously, was there ever even an inkling of a doubt?) Julia Roberts is a better queen/step-mother than Charlize Theron, but to be honest it could just be that Julia Roberts had the better role in a better movie, plain and simple. OR, it could just be my bias 'cause I'd pretty much ALWAYS choose Julia Roberts...Armie Hammer was an awesome prince. Sam Clafin was... average. And the Mirror Mirror dwarfs just rocked! Whereas the Snow White and the Huntsman dwarfs were more... I cannot even think of a word to describe them... 

The only redeeming qualities of Snow White and the Huntsman is Chris Hemsworth, who is amazing as usual, and the fact that Snow ends up with the Huntsman and NOT William, which is completely predictable in this movie, but I still liked it. (Though Sahil expected Snow to awaken after being kissed by William! Gosh, guys just don't get the whole "true love" and only "true love's kiss" thing hey...) Other than this the actors weren't too great, the movie was a bit awkward and abrupt. The scenes didn't seem to have a natural flow. And the movie was just lacking on the whole. What else would you expect from a Kristen Stewart movie?

Mirror Mirror had a good story line and wonderful performances by the actors (apart from Lily Collins eyebrows). Mirror Mirror was also quite a humouress movie which had me laughing quite a bit. (Yeah, I know I use "quite" a bit too often, I'm trying not to, its not so easy!) Humour always wins it for me. Unless the drama and action are top notch. 

So on the whole, if you still have a doubt in your mind as to which is the better movie you should just stick to Dumb and Dumber... 'Cause obviously Mirror Mirror is the superior movie by far, and therefore wins. 

THE END.

Tuesday, July 16, 2013

FULL OF SHIP - A Dingalings production



This past Saturday, on an almost spur of the moment invitation, we headed off to Golden Horse to see the Dingalings "Full of Ship" (I only found out the name of the show when I got there). 

"Full of Ship" was my first Dingalings show so I didn't entirely know what to expect, but I was nervous that it might be a bit too "rude" based on what I have heard of past Dingaling productions. However, it was actually decent enough. It is an adult comedy after all, but nothing a 16-year-old can't handle.

This is the Dingalings 5th production and features Koobeshen Naidoo (far right), Pamela Naidoo,(the ONLY lady) Senzo Mthethwa (its the black dude, seriously), Henry Ramkissoon (the bald one), Melvyn David (sort of in between Senzo and Pamela)and Ravi Subramoney (the only one not yet mentioned). The 5 guys are off to do a gig on the luxury cruise ship. We meet them as they are waiting to board, and follow their shenanigans from thereon out. Trouble and drama are inevitable with these guys. From Melvyn having hysterics about drowning and insisting on wearing a bright orange life vest (which I would do too) because even the "titinic" hit an "ice cube" and sank. To Henry smuggling booze on board in shampoo bottles. And things only get 'worse' when they bump into the sassy Pamela.  

I won't give any more away for those who may plan on seeing the show or getting the DVD and don't want the fun to be spoiled. However, I will say this, Koobeshen may be considered the 'main star' of the show, but for me it was Melvyn who stole the show. His antics were just hilarious and I saw the character as one I could pull off well too. And he's sooo cute! You just wanna pick him up and snuggle him and tell him everything's gonna be okay... Unless someone mentions his ma, then I'm outta there...


On the whole, "Full of Ship" is HILARIOUS! I laughed from beginning to end, and still had a smile on my face when I got home. Some good old classic music was also featured which really just enhanced the show even further. My personal favourite was the old Tamil song "wada mapula" which just makes my heart cry and smile at the same time.

"Full of Ship" is South African comedy at its best and definitely a show worth watching if you get the chance. 



"Guide to understanding the introverted"

As an introverted person I must say that this is so true! I was actually trying to explain the whole 'personal space bubble" to someone the other day and then a friend happened to share this with me! Coincidence or what?!
Anyhoo for all those who do not quite get us introverts, this should help... :)
Courtesy of +Chipo Hamukoma and 9GAG :)

Monday, July 15, 2013

Is it a bird? Is it a plane? IS it a JOB?! NO! Its a rejection email.




How awesome is life? So I post my "unemployment" piece a few days ago and today I receive a rejection email. But, I guess this is a step up. Most of the time I don't even get a rejection response. I just get nothing and just know that my application has been unsuccessful, if it was even viewed at all. So, YAY! I got a response! And even a negative one is better than no response at all, right?

So this should be pretty embarrassing and I should be ashamed... Not parading it around for the world to see, right? Well I think I'm pretty much at rock bottom. So I might as well make some use of my situation... And also, if there are other people facing similar situations like me, they can know that they are not alone...

Well, guess it's time to check those sites again and apply for some more jobs ey... *SIGH*

Saturday, July 13, 2013

Confessions of a Bookaholic - 10


Unemployed and so happy - NOT

Technically, I do have a job, but I don't think it really counts... So this is a piece I wrote for someone a short while ago, and it still applies. I'm not going to say any more because I think I say it all in the piece.

So here it is:



I’m 23 years old and I’m sitting at home warming the furniture. I completed my degree in 2011 with a Bachelor of Arts majoring in Journalism & Media Studies and English from Rhodes University.

It’s now 2013, and I have yet to find a job. Okay, technically, I do have a job. But, it’s a part time one. I've been working as a secretary for an accountant since July 2012. It started off as being a three month temporary position while his usual secretary went on maternity leave. She then extended the leave and thereafter I was asked to stay on to just ‘help her ease back into the working process’. As of January this year I am called in for just two weeks a month to help out during the VAT period. All I basically do is pretty much run around the office helping out with odds and ends that the secretary cannot get to… I answer the phone, take messages, and mostly just do filing. Now and then I may get to do something really exciting – data capturing! Most of the time though I have to find work to do or create work for myself. As of May 2013 I now have a 'full time' job as a secretary - EXCITING stuff.

So, yes, I got an expensive piece of paper stating that I have this ‘awesome’ degree to be a secretary’s assistant. Makes me feel real good about myself…

When I first completed my degree, I was nervous about entering the working world. I didn't really know what to expect or if I’d make it… But, I was excited to do so, to have a job. I guess I should have started looking for a job while I was still studying, but I didn't think. So I only started looking for one in January the following year. I thought I’d just look around for a few weeks and be working in no time.

How ignorant I was. Despite knowing all about the high unemployment rates in South Africa and hearing all the stories about how difficult it is to get a job; I thought because I had a degree and that too from Rhodes University (oooooo), that I would get a job with ease.

So I started applying for jobs. I initially started with just writing jobs, then moved on to editing as well as I realized I’d prefer a job as a sub-editor and could keep writing on my own. I applied for jobs in newspapers, and online, for jobs in Pietermaritzburg, Durban, Cape Town, Johannesburg – pretty much anywhere and everywhere. The main problem is, when searching for jobs, most places ask for a minimum of five years’ experience. If they’re not asking for five years, its two… If a job position asked for two years or less experience, I would still apply for it, because I’m that desperate. So I’d just send my CV and in my cover letter I would state that all the vacation work, volunteer work and work at student publications that I’d done during my studies adds up to quite a bit of experience and hope for the best.

The first response that I received was for a junior reporter post at a local newspaper, I was to be called in for an interview, but I had yet to have my licence, which was a must. So that fell through. My mum still goes around telling everyone that I would have had that job if not for the licence issue – it’s her way of feeling better, that it wasn't any fault of mine… If only I had had my licence the job would have been mine, despite the fact that I was just one of many being called in for the interview.

Thereafter I had only being called in for two interviews, and had one interview over the phone. My first interview was at an online motivational publication. I royally messed up the interview. I’m very bad at the verbal and face-to-face interactions, which is why the whole system screws me over even more. If only everything were based from a dark room where no one could see me and I could just be judged on my writing (or editing) I might stand a better chance. But either way, the job wasn't suited to me, I’m not very big on motivational nonsense, life is was it is, the end. The next interview came months later. It was for a junior position as a sub-editor. I really got my hopes up for this. The interview wasn't the greatest, but I thought I managed to stumble through okay… I had to also do an aptitude test and an editing test. I eventually heard back from them over a month later, after I’d already assumed that I hadn't gotten the position. I was politely told that the position was given to someone with more experience, but that they were very impressed with me and my application and I should keep an eye out for any future positions at the company and keep applying. I realized that was all probably utter hogwash that they just tell people to let them off gently.

After these failings I’d just given up. I stopped applying for jobs or even looking. I resigned myself to the fact that I’m just not good enough and that’s that. I’d applied for SO many jobs, and only heard back from a few, and that too to be turned down. Most places didn't even give me a rejection response. I wasn't even good enough to be rejected.

I know that you have to keep trying, you cannot give up. But I've been trying for over a year now and I’m just depressed. When people ask what I’m doing I just jokingly say I’m unemployed or sitting at home or on sabbatical or something, but every time I’m asked that question and forced to face it, I just get depressed. I spend days just crying about it. I think of everyone I know, they've all got awesome jobs and are out there moving on and living their lives, even the people who didn't study! That’s what hurts the most, I studied and cannot get a job, yet someone who barely passed matric is living it up with a top notch job. It’s extremely embarrassing that I still live with my parents and have to rely on my dad for everything. I’m at the age where I should be doing everything for myself and helping out my parents… not living off them.

I keep applying for jobs hoping that THIS will be the one! Finally I’ll get a call back. But, nothing. It’s just me. I’m just not job material. I keep applying, but I have no hope. I've reached the point where I will do anything! If I find any job paying more than my 'part time' 'secretary' job, I’ll take it, whether it’s as a secretary, a PA or a waitress, I’ll do it. What more can I do?