'Mean Girls' 10th Anniversary!

Hello again blogosphere! Guys, how super fetch is this? Today officially marks the 10th Anniversary of the super popular teen movie 'Mean Girls'! I think we all know that this cult movie's given us some majorly legendary quotes, but what else can we take from it you ask? That's what I'm clearing up today. Stay tuned for 6 super valuable lessons we've learnt from 'Mean Girls' . . .

Always be Fashion Forward

It is obvious that dressing fancily is a thing of importance to the 'The Plastics'. What is the key to magically looking awesome 24/7? Preparation my friends. Make a plan, have a little schedule, read some magazines, that kinda thing. And always just remember the important things, like the fact that you can't wear a tank top two days in a row and can only wear your hair in a ponytail once a week, you know, so you can keep your priorities straight. But also, if you have a fashion disaster, don't be afraid to just go crazy with your wardrobe. Wake up one morning to find that there are a bunch of holes in your tank top? Just throw a Regina George and start a new trend. Oh, and always remember to wear pink on Wednesdays, that's a must. 

Be Careful who you Trust

As you can gather from 'The Plastics', there are some pretty dubious characters out there that you should probably steer clear of. Clue number one, if you have to be formally invited to eat lunch with a group of people for a week, they're probably not the best biffle for liffle material. Never cross them or anything, but perhaps maybe don't tell them all of your deepest darkest secrets, because next minute, there'll be accusations that you make out with hotdogs throughout a 'Burn Book' floating around the school. Plus, also remember, never trust people with big hair, you just know it's jam packed with lies.

Stay Positive

 

Life getting you down? Have no fear, 'Mean Girls' is here to help. No matter what hardships you have to endure, just suck it up and keep moving forward. Getting sick of everyday life? Just simply waltz into a random school and promote positivity and rainbows and all things magical, who cares that you don't even go there?! And keep trying to have a positive outlook on life. For instance, next time you get punched in the face, don't annoyingly complain about it and force everyone to listen to your incessant whining, just simply appreciate the awesomeness of it. 

Never be Afraid to Make Up you own Words

Sick of your current language? No problem at all, just say whatever syllables you like and make up your very own word. Gretchen did, Cady did, obviously it's just the cool thing to do. Whenever you're super nervous, you'll never have to worry about saying the right thing again, because you'll just be speaking nonsense, and that's totally okay. In fact, it's grool. And no matter what, never give up in your endeavour to expand the vocabulary of many despite any criticism. You will one day make it happen, I promise!

People from Africa can be White

I suppose this lesson could've been some super deep, anti-racist comment, but you know, why not just take it at face value? It seems everyone else on the internet has. Yes, it is true, people from South Africa are not all black, there are white people there too. I know right, aren't your officially minds blown?! Legitimately, before I watched this movie, I didn't actually know that, although I guess to be fair, I was only 5 when it came out. Regardless, it was a valuable lesson, and I owe it all to you 'Mean Girls'. 

Look both ways before Crossing the Road

I urge you all to put your safety first! Sure Regina George is awful, but does that mean she deserves to be hit by a bus? No, it (probably) does not. Always remember, when in traffic, follow the road safety rules, or ignore them at your own risk. Do you want to spend prom in a full-on body cast? I didn't think so.

So that's officially the end of my little 'Mean Girls' 10th Anniversary inspired post. I hope you learnt some valuable life lessons and are able to take on the vapid persona of 'The Plastics' whenever you feel like it. Have a super grool day! Til' next time . . .

Annabel xx

'Divergent' Review (with GIF's!)

Greetings members of the blogosphere! Today, as you've probably already gathered, I'll be reviewing the new young adult dystopian movie that everyone's been buzzing about, 'Divergent'. Did it live up to the hype? Was it enjoyable despite being totally mainstream? I guess you'll just have to continue reading.

I have to admit, going into this movie, I seriously had my doubts. Despite myself, I did really enjoy the second instalment of the 'Hunger Games' Trilogy (or tetralogy now that the last book's been split into two, but whatever). But seriously, how many young adult dystopian movies based on novel trilogies can there be? And how many of them can actually be good? There's also the factor of 'Divergent' being totally and utterly mainstream. Now I'm no hipster, but I just don't put all that much faith in the age group that thought 'Twilight' was anything but dreadful. However, I have to say, I did think this movie was pretty awesome in spite of my low expectations.

The film transports us to a future where the world is divided into separate categories. It is believed that in order to prevent any future war, it is vital for citizens to placed with their own kind. In order to help determine their placement, 16 year olds are forced to undergo a personality test, which will sort them into one of the 5 factions- these being Erudite (smart and logical), Amity (kind), Candour (honest), Dauntless (fearless protectors) and Abnegation (selfless). However, people are given the choice to disregard this outcome and determine their own faction in a 'Choosing Ceremony'. One they have made their decision, they are unable to change without becoming 'factionless', and as a result, poverty stricken.

The movie revolves around protagonist Beatrice (Shailene Woodley), a 16 year old girl in Abnegation. The plot thickens when she gets an unclear reading on her personality test, meaning that she is what is referred to as a Divergent. This means that she has traits from many of the different factions, and is unable to be categorised, posing a threat to the government due to the fact that she can't conform. Surprisingly opting for 'Dauntless' at the Choosing Ceremony, Beatrice is separated from her brother, Caleb (Ansel Elgort) as well as her parents (Tony Goldwyn, Ashley Judd), and is forced to keep her true identity a secret.

Along the way, Beatrice (now shortened to 'Tris') befriends fellow transfer Christina (Zoë Kravitz), and meets instructors Eric (Jai Courtney) and 'Four' (Theo James).

In another plot twist, it is revealed that the initiates with the lowest ranking by the end of the week will be cut and deemed factionless, which isn't favourable for a struggling Tris.

Over the course of the film, the Dauntless recruits are required to do a bunch of crazy stuff including fighting each other in the arena and jumping off buildings.

Lots of other stuff happens as well throughout the movie, the film being jam packed with a bunch of training montages and crazy stunts, not to mention the initiates having to face their worst fears through an electronic simulator.

Slowly (and not so surprisingly), Four is established as Tris' love interest, and initiate Peter (Miles Teller) is brought in as an enemy. Things get complicated when Erudite leader Jeanine Matthews (Kate Winslet) plans to overthrow Abnegation by turning Dauntless into mindless, controllable soldiers in a power struggle that can only be described as epic.

Will she succeed? I guess you'll just have to watch the movie, which means this officially marks the end of my seriously extensive plot retelling. Hopefully not too many spoilers were spilled (sorry about that fangirls and boys).

As I said before, I was really impressed with this movie. Before watching it, I honestly had no idea what it was going to be about (yes, I'm one of those annoying people who watch the movie without having read the book). However, I was majorly lured by the story without being totally confused the whole time, which is always a good balance. I also thought that Shailene Woodley was really good as Tris (despite the fact that her brother was played by the guy who plays her boyfriend in 'The Fault in Our Stars', but let's just turn a blind eye to that). Her character actually very easily could've been super annoying with her indecisiveness and constant narration, however she never enters into the realm of irritating, which just further highlights her quality acting.

Probably the only negative thing about it (although this is no fault of the movie's) is that they're names are just super uninspiring. At least in 'The Hunger Games' they've got kinda cool, original names like Katniss and Peeta, but Beatrice and Tobias? They just sound like the names of a couple of members in a home for the elderly. However, I guess in the grand scheme of things, that doesn't really matter at all.

Overall, I thought this movie was pretty darn cool. The story wasn't overly derivative (which is pretty hard for anything vaguely dystopian), the acting was really great, and despite it being over 2 hours, there wasn't ever a majorly dull moment. I highly suggest that you guys go out and watch it, I can pretty much guarantee you won't be disappointed. Til' next time . . .

Annabel xx

What's Trending? Vol. 2

Hello again my readers! I'd just like to announce that this is indeed my second post of the day (and today just happens to be Easter Sunday, yes I know I'm sad).

You may have noticed so far that the gifs in this post have both had a Twitter theme. Why you may ask? Because today, I'm going to be doing a little round-up of what's trending in the land of Twitter. Yes, I know, I've done one of these before. But that one was way back in September last year when my blog first started out, so probably no one read it. Also, in this constantly changing world, I guess I have to sort of keep updating (damn the internet and its innovative ways).

Before we begin, have a little looksie at what's currently popular around the world:

Pet Rescue Saga

If you saw this and instantly had absolutely no idea what it was, don't worry, we were in the same position. Upon contacting Lord Google and inspecting it more closely, it seems that Pet Rescue Saga is the name of some new app. Why is it trending? I don't really know. It seems other people in the twittersphere have been wondering the same thing, but I guess we can just chalk it up to the fact that it seems to be a really addictive game. I honestly have no idea what it involves, but I can't really say I'm particularly lured. This may come as a shock to you considering I have no life, but apps aren't really my thing. Angry Birds? Never played it. Candy Crush? Wouldn't know how to play it. I'm sorry, but I see no future for Pet Rescue Saga and I. 

Happy Easter

If I need to explain this one to anyone, you seriously have some major problems. It's Easter Sunday, of course Happy Easter's trending! I even wrote a blog post about it and everything!

Coachella

This week officially marks the 3 day internationally acclaimed music and arts festival known as Coachella. If you've never heard of it, I think you've been living under a rock your entire life, and if you're normal and know what I'm talking about, then you can understand why it's trending. Pretty much every celebrity ever attends, decked out in casual beach wear made by companies who pay said stars thousands of dollars to promote it. Sure it's morally corrupt, but I guess that's Hollywood. I myself have been lured by the awesomeness that seems to be Coachella, but if for people of non celebrity status it's anything like Australia's 'Good Life' Festival (aka, let's all get totally drugged up and listen to painstakingly awful, mainstream music), I think I'll be steering clear forever. Plus, this little thing called reality seems to get in the way which is a problem.  Below is Lea Michele and Katy Perry at the 2014 festival, you know, just casually. 

WonderCon

Invasion of the nerds everybody. I'm assuming you're all familiar with the awesome geek fest that is Comic Con? Well this is basically the smaller, less popular version of that. It's for people who love them some comic books basically. I myself am not much of a fan of graphic novels, but that doesn't mean I don't appreciate the nerdiness of it all. I have read the Buffy the Vampire Slayer comic book series, but that's about it. However, Wondercon also seems to celebrate and appreciate motion pictures as well. Everybody, feast your eyes on the awesomeness that is the 'Frozen' cosplay swarming this year's convention. 

On My Way Music Video

I am ridiculously excited for this one. Remember last month when I reviewed Lea Michele's totally awesome album 'Louder'? Well, here comes the second music video, this time for the song 'On My Way' (which still reminds of the 'Glee' episode where Quinn got hit by a car, but whatever). It seems that I'm not the only person excited about this considering it's trending, go Leanatics! But seriously, I am super duper excited. So far, all we know about it is that she's in the desert, standing around at a motel, and riding in cars with random people. To me, that sounds like the greatest music video ever. Ahh, this is going to be ridiculously awesome, just look at the candid shots!

Orphan Black

This is total news to me, but apparently there's some Canadian sci-fi TV series called 'Orphan Black'. Considering it's trending on Twitter, it must be pretty popular, but I've seriously never heard anything about it. I feel totally out of the loop. I legitimately have nothing to do all day during the holidays, so you'd think I would be able to at least keep up with the land of television, but no, apparently I'm failing at that as well. In the words of Troy Bolton, I need to get my head in the game. Why is the show currently trending you may ask? According to my extensive googling, it's just come back from hiatus, and by the sounds of it, pretty dramatic things are happening. People are coming back from the dead, waiters are whipping out guns, it's getting crazy! Damn, I really need to start watching this show. 

AFL Dogs Blues

Just looking at the title of this I know it's about sport. I may know nothing about anything vaguely related to any form of exercise, but I'm fairly certain AFL stands for Australian Football League, and I'm just not cool with that. Due to my intense hatred of all things sport, I am refusing to blog about this. Yep, you read that right. I'm assuming it's some sort of game, with the teams and the colours and the other stuff, but that's all the information I'm giving you. 

The Sound of Music

Doesn't everyone just love 'The Sound of Music'? I know I do. Come on, the hills are alive with it, that's pretty impressive. Sure, even I have to admit it's a little odd that it's trending 49 years after it came out, but I guess you never need an excuse to promote it. All it took for it to trend nation wide was for Channel 10 to air it tonight, seriously, that's all it took! The better question is, why exactly is Channel 10 airing it on Easter in the first place? I don't remember the scene where the Easter Bunny pops in and starts singing about his favourite things. However, it seems that today is also Hitler's birthday. How awkward it is that for Channel 10! Oh well, at least everyone can have a little at home, Von Trapp style sing-a-long and totally ignore the offensive connotations. 

Hamid Mir

It seems that recently, Hamid Mir (a Pakistani reporter) was majorly injured in some sort of gun attack. Now I'm no journalist or anything, but to me, that sounds like pretty major news. But oh no, apparently this isn't the case. Somehow, in our technologically advanced world, it's taken 6 days for anyone to get the real story. How is that even possible? Apparently, all these different media companies have been blaming one another and started some kind of 'he said she said' thing, it's all getting pretty cray. Naturally, the twitterverse (and the universe) are getting pretty mad about this, considering no one knows what's actually going on in the midst of this weird little battle that seems to be going on. Apparently, he was originally supposed to have been shot 3 times, and now it's changed to 6. What actually happened? I guess we'll never know.

Lewis Hamilton

Once again, it seems that we've entered into the world of competition, this time in the form of the Grand Prix. So this guy, Lewis Hamilton, recently just won the Chinese Grand Prix, making it his third consecutive win. Okay, I guess that's pretty impressive, but that doesn't mean I enjoy blogging about it. All I can say is at least it isn't sport. 

Yay! You've reached the end of the post. Hopefully you're now officially up to date on what's happening around the globe without having to endure the terribly boring, atrocious news. You're welcome. That's all folks. Til' next time . . .

Easter Greetings!

Happy Easter blogosphere! I hope everyone's been having a truly epic, chocolate filled day so far. Well you know what, things just got a whole lot better, because Teenage Fanatic's here to celebrate with you (isn't self promotion just the best?). Today, in order to truly appreciate the only day of the year our meals consist pretty much entirely of confectionary (or the only day of the year we admit to it), I've decided to do a little round up of some of the most creative easter dessert items to ever grace the Earth. So now, without further ado, feast your eyes upon these chocolate delicacies . . .

Pop Art Easter Eggs

Aren't these eggs just the coolest things ever? I most certainly think so. How do you shake things up on Easter morning? Just paint some eggs and make exact replicas of famous pop art paintings, simples. Seriously, the amount of effort that must've gone into this. And as someone who is rendered totally incapable when given a paintbrush, I can certainly appreciate that this must've been one super difficult creation. In the words of doge, such effort, much awesome. 

Massive Chocolate Bunny

This certainly is one towering bunny of doom. How is it not melting next to those cheap looking fluorescent lights on the ceiling? That my friends I do not know. But you have to admit, that is one good quality rabbit. It's even holding its very own carrot, talk about attention to detail. My only question is why it is located in some dodgy looking building. Sure, I get why it can't be outside (chocolate and the sun aren't exactly the best of friends), but why put it in some quasi warehouse kind of thing? That's not exactly going to bring an abundance of people to view the glory that is the massive bunny. 

House of Chocolate

Doesn't this just look totally chompable (and yes, that's a word)? Whoever came up with the idea of housing chocolate chickens in a tiered, chocolate paradise should be knighted, honestly. This is just unbelievably awesome. The only thing is that there'd be some much pressure to finish it all in a short amount of time. Just think about it, you'd grab a deliciously awesome chicken, eat all of it, do the same again many more times, and then finally get to the house, all before it melts. Obviously the only answer is that you'd have to spend your entire Easter Sunday in the fridge (which I am totally all for). 

Tree Trunk of Woodland Creatures 

This is officially the cutest Easter dessert I've ever laid eyes on. It looks like some sort of scene from a kid's book of nursery rhymes. I don't even care if it's aimed at the under 9 age group, I am so lured by this. You've got your little bunny on the side, a garden fairy up the top, what's not to love? It's so ridiculously cute and awesome that I would almost feel bad about ripping it to pieces and devouring it (almost being the operative word however). 

Easter Pancakes

I don't even know why I find these so cool, I just do. Perhaps it's because I've always thought that pancakes were a high-class member of the breakfast food family, or maybe I just like it when food is made into the shape of rabbits, who really knows? Whatever it is, I am loving these little packages of awesomeness. You've got a pretty rad looking rabbit, a little multi coloured egg, a little chicken, and some other random stuff. To me, this sounds like a truly good quality easter breakfast. Pancakes followed by large amounts of chocolate, doesn't that Easter menu just sound like one massive cardiac arrest? It's probably worth it though. 

So that's the end of my Easter blog post! I know you all must've been struggling to suppress your hunger while reading this, but I think Emma Stone pretty much sums this one up:

Now go stuff your faces with a ridiculous amount of chocolate! Happy Easter! Til' next time . . .

Annabel xx

'The Grand Budapest Hotel' Review (with GIF's!)

Greetings again my readers! Obviously today it seems that I will be reviewing the new Wes Anderson movie, 'The Grand Budapest Hotel'. Going in, I literally knew nothing about the film. Walking out however? That's a different story. Was it worth the $16 I paid for the movie ticket? You'll just have to read on and see.

Like pretty much all the movies I've reviewed on my blog so far, I thoroughly enjoyed this. I honestly had no idea what it was about to begin with. My mother dragged me to the movie theatres for an outing, and I really didn't know what to expect (especially considering the dubious taste of my parents). The only clues I was given in regards to the plot were '1930's', 'murder' and 'Voldemort', which really weren't very helpful at all. I was honestly going in there expecting a dramatisation of some sort of Agatha Christie, Harry Potter crossover fanfiction. However, despite my initial hesitance, I thought this quirky little motion picture was outstandingly awesome.

The movie begins as a teenage girl approaches a monument dedicated to a writer (penned as 'The Author', played by Tom Wilkinson), carrying with her his memoir containing a recount of his trip to 'The Grand Budapest Hotel' in 1968.

We now see 'The Author' in his younger years (Jude Law) talking to the elderly owner of the now run-down Grand Budapest, Zero Moustafa (F. Murray Abraham), as he gives an account of how he got ownership of the hotel.

Once again, we are taken to a different time zone, this time in 1932, one of the last few years of the hotel's peak. We see a young Zero (Tony Revolori) working in the hotel as a Lobby Boy under the tutelage of legendary concierge Monsieur Gustave (Ralph Fiennes, aka the guy who plays Voldemort). Gustave, despite his deceptively flamboyant demeanour, is known for his skirt chasing, catering for the over 70's crowd with what he deems to be 'exceptional service'. Among these women is Madame D (Tilda Swinton), whom he seems to be rather fond of.

In the event of her death under mysterious circumstances, Gustave is called to attend the reading of her will (Zero invited to tag along), where it is revealed that he will be receiving her most prized, and more importantly, most valuable possession, a painting by the name of 'Boy With Apple'. Obviously, her family (whom she was never close to in the slightest) is rather displeased with this result to say the least. So how do you they go about claiming this beloved artwork as their own? By framing Gustave for her murder of course. For the remainder of the film, action ensues in the form of an elaborate prison escape, the suspenseful hunting of violent thug J.G Jopling (Willem Dafoe), and the introduction of Zero's love interest, Agatha (Saoirse Ronan).  

To avoid the wrath of violently angry readers, I will leave the plot retelling there in order to stop myself from revealing any major spoilers. 

As I said before, I thought this movie was super impressive. The attention to detail throughout the film was amazing, every element in each scene meticulously placed with intent and purpose. It seems that Anderson has a habit of being a bit obsessive compulsive in his scene arrangement, which I guess really payed off. The set was just stunning, the rich colours and elaborate furnishings making the film visually exquisite (and all kinds of awesome). It's such a positive review already, and this is before I've even got to the acting!

Just like the rest of the film, the acting happens to be truly epic. Everyone embodies their character perfectly, providing effortless comedic timing as well as displaying emotional depth. What was also really refreshing about the film was the fact that everyone had their own accents. There was no attempt to standardise the nationality of the movie, making it natural and a lot more enjoyable to watch. Plus, the movie was just really funny and awesome. 

I'm going to have to warn you now, some people die throughout the course of the movie. I know what you're thinking, 'but you said it was a comedy', and I'm not taking that back, it most definitely is. If you're one of those people who gets overly emotional at the death of an ant, than perhaps these deaths may bother you. However if you are able to keep your feelings in check like a normal, emotionally stable human, then you should be fine. The majority of the deaths are almost handled flippantly. Just take the demise of this feline for instance:

All in all, I highly suggest you go out and see 'The Grand Budapest Hotel' as soon as possible while it's still at the movies. If you've got a really straight sense of humour (or no sense of humour at all) and are rather conservative, then perhaps give it a miss, but if you're open to quirky and zany films, this one's definitely for you. The plot's engaging, the acting was amazing, and the writing is superb, what's not to like?

You've now officially reached the end of the review, congrats! I can say without a doubt that this blog post wasn't motivated by any sort of bias at all, so I genuinely highly suggest you go out and buy a movie ticket now. Go and live your lives readers! Til' next time . . .

Annabel xx