Saturday, March 31, 2012

why don't we...




As promised, from now on, I will only be making reviews on a monthly basis. And as March has passed, it's time to look back on this month. March was basically about waiting. I waited for my new washing machine, I am still waiting for my new mobile phone, due to delivery shortages, and most desperately I waited for March 22nd for the Hunger Games movie to be released. While this wait was rewarded appropriately the washing machine came along with some installation problems. Although I asked my father if he was really sure that there would be no problems, before I made the purchase online, I was sitting next to a non-installed washing machine, when the conveyance left on wednesday morning, last week. The installment was supposed to be inclusive, but the haulers just refused to install the machine, since the connections were jammed, and they would have made a hole into the plasterwall, that was in their way. Long story short. I did it myself. Craftswoman, I am!
And the mobile. It was supposed to be purchaseable on March 16th. From this day on I refreshed the o2 website every day, I guess. And yesterday finally, the phone popped up in their shop. Outrageous!

Another thing that happed kinda proves my clumsiness again. I finally made it to the gym again this month. I wanted to do this much earlier, but I lost my lock, and had to get a new one, which took ages for me to do. Well two weeks ago on a saturday I went for the second time this month, and I just finished the training on the weights and wanted to get my Ipod from the locker for the endurance training, when I couldn't open the lock. Clever as I was, I forgot to remove the old keys, from the lost lock, which were still in my backpack. And when going to the training I simply confused the new keys with the old ones and voilà: there you have your very own little disaster. Of course I already saw myself walking home with my sweatpants on, without money or a bus ticket. Thanks to another key related disaster that had happed last summer, at least I would have had some spare keys hidden in the garden. But then I kinda reacted quickly and thought, well I am probably not the only idiot in the gym, and they must have a bolt cutter or something and went to see if there was still someone there from the gym staff. (Since it was already 10 pm, I feared they might have been gone already) But there he was, my hero, with the bolt cutter. He didn't actually use it, because he tried to open the lock with some dirty trick, that at least left it undamaged. Of course I threw away the wrong keys, immediately. Although life seems quite boring if you're always careful with everything, right? 

Well enough of the stories, I also wanted to give some small reviews about the books and movies I consumed this month. 

THE BOOKS I HAVE READ:




THE MAZE RUNNER by JAMES DASHNER
The first book of another dystopian trilogy, that gets often recommended when people would like to read something similar as THE HUNGER GAMES by Suzanne Collins. There are in fact some similarities, some kids, but only boys, get thrown into a big maze that seems to change everyday, and these boys have almost no memories about who they are or where they came from. Of course it would be kind of boring if there weren't any frightening creatures that always come out at nighttime. They are described as a mixture of machine and animal, and of course pretty lethal. So these boys are trying to solve this maze day after day, while they don't really know if there really is a solution. But hope keeps them going and soon it seems as if one of those boys, the protagonist of course, is coming really close to solving this riddle. James Dashner really knows how to create suspense, and I really enjoyed the read and am looking forward to the sequel THE SCORCH TRIALS which should come in the mail today. Also, when looking for the book cover today, I found out that there is a movie in production and is said to be in theatres 2013. Since there is no cast announced, yet, I guess the release date might get postponed again. Of course I secretly hope Josh Hutcherson is going to play the role of Thomas, the protagonist of the book.  (5/5)

PANDEMONIUM by LAUREN OLIVER
This book is the second part of a current trilogy about a society that believes love is a disease. I found that idea so amazing, and the first book DELIRIUM fulfilled all my expectations. I also enjoyed Oliver's writing style a lot. At first I thought the main character, Lena, was a bit naive and never questioning what the government did, but I guess if you are born in a society like this, of course you think the things that are happening are the way they are supposed to be. Never having experienced something different. But then Lena soon gets caught by the fatal disease called Amor Deliria Nervosa. And at first she refuses to believe it and questions how much she enjoys it, but then realizes how the government has built up this huge lie about love being a disease and so she tries to flee from her society The escape is successful but not without a huge loss. The second book basically sets place in the time after the escape and tells how Lena lives with her loss and tries to fight against her past folk as an undercover spy. The sequel was a dignified follow-up but at some point it left me a little unsatisfied.  (4/5)

THE HUNGER GAMES by SUZANNE COLLINS
I didn't really plan to say much about it, since it's just a re-read in the original language.  I can only say I enjoy it as much as the first time. Although I am always sad that there is only one first time and the tension is gone then. (5/5)

BIRTHMARKED by CARAGH O'BRIEN
And here we have our fourth dystopian trilogy. Not as exciting as the first three mentioned series, but still the topic was kind of interesting. It's basically about a small elite society that tries to genetically control their population after a disease had spread amongst them. Therefore they choose newborns from the poor and excluded folk outside their border. At first the parents of these children feel priviledged, because their children get to live a wealthy life, but soon the rate of the chosen newborns grows higher and higher, and the poor folk of course gets suspicious about what really happens behind the wall on the other side. Although this story is set in a far away future szenario, the writing style always made me feel as if I was reading a historical novel. it was kind of strange when you imagined a medieval city and then suddenly highly developed technology was mentioned. I thought, that was kind of a minus in that book. But nevertheless I'll probably go and read the other parts somewhen soon.  (3/5)



THE MOVIES I HAVE WATCHED





THE HUNGER GAMES
Here, also, I don't need to say much anymore since I already made an extra post on that movie.
I saw it the second time on monday and it was still as amazing as the first time. (10/10)


SHAME
I must admit, I expected something more disturbing here. I might be jaded by movies like ENTER THE VOID or REQUIEM FOR A DREAM, but I always had the feeling that the character Michael Fassbender played isn't really that far away from the average image of manhood I have. Not even the suicide scenes with Carey Mulligan touched me emotionally, but that might be the fault of the director. All in all I think the movie is worth watching. (7/10)


JANE EYRE
I haven't read the book, I must admit, and wouldn't have watched the movie if it wasn't for the appearances of Michael Fassbender and Mia Wasikowska, whom I think is amazingly talented. Although I was very touched by the way Wasikowska was delivering emotional substance, and the beginning was kind of exciting and promising, the storyline in the end was a bit disappointing and not quite reasonable for me. (6.5/10)


LIKE CRAZY
What the heck was that? Seriously? I was looking forward to an independent romantic love story, a movie that won awards at the Sundance Film Festival. It started with a really nice atmosphere but then everything was ruined by cutting the movie on all the wrong places. I have never seen a movie being edited so badly that the viewer is no longer able to tell where the hell the characters are settled. It seemed to constantly switch between Great Britain and the USA. But then also the storyline got more and more unreasonable and illogical it was hard to keep watching until the end. The saddest thing about the movie is, that the amazing Jennifer Lawrence didn't get a chance to show what she is capable of, and her character was so pathetic. (5/10)


THE KIDS ARE ALL RIGHT
It started off a bit awkward, I can't really explain why. I didn't know where this movie was getting, if it wanted to be a comedy or a drama and it turned out to be a proper mixture of both. This movie is about five congenial characters who aren't perfect at all. It's about making mistakes and about forgiveness. (7/10)


WINGED CREATURES
This movie is about a killing spree and its aftermath on the people who witnessed the crime. It shows the different ways people deal with a drastic situation. There are these two kids, one of it just stops talking to the people around, the other one doesn't show any grief and almost makes the adults around her angry because she just flees into faith and justifies the death of her own father for the sake of her god. Then there are the adults who completely get out of control. The doctor who poisons his wife, and the mother who neglects her child. All in all an interesting story that shows how people deal with grief and the loss of a loved one. (7/10)


BRIDGE TO THERABITHIA
This one tells an interesting story about a friendship between two children among problems like bullying and poverty. It's about being creative and imaginative with only little means, but also, again, about dealing with loss. (7/10)

So that were like 4 movies including Josh Hutcherson. Does that already count as obsessive?

Monday, March 26, 2012

save your season.

More music to explore for my dear followers. I made two more mixes for 8 tracks, one is a bit older, but didn't get mentioned here, before, the other one I just published.

The recent one:



Tracklist:

01. ABADABAD - California Birds (Keep Shelly in Athens Remix)
02. Mint Julep - To The Sea
03. Teeel - Triangle Waves
04. CHLLNGR - Sun Down
05. Young Magic - You With Air
06. Selebrities - Delusions
07. Soft Metals - Psychic Driving
08. Wayphaser - Coral Visions
09. Nite Jewel - Memory Man


And the older one:



Tracklist: 

01. White Sea - Mountaineer
02. Class Actress - Keep You
03.Blood Orange - Champagne Coast
04. Grimes - Genesis
05. Labyrinth Ear - Amber
06. The Voyeurist - Chase(R)
07. Alpine - Villages
08. Chairlift - Take It Out On Me



Sunday, March 25, 2012

triangle waves.

 i have been listening to this very nice record for the last two weeks.



I think, if you like Washed Out or Blouse or whatever chillwave or synthie band is around right now, you might aswell enjoy this little gem.  Here are some songs that hopefully convince you.



Saturday, March 24, 2012

deep in the meadow.

Boys. Girls. I have seen the movie. Yes, this is going to be the third blog post in a row, related or directly about the books and movie THE HUNGER GAMES and if you aren't already annoyed by it, keep on reading. Otherwise just skip ahead and hope for the next entries to be completely unrelated. Though I'm not sure if I can promise that. Sorry. 

So the movie. Perfect. I have no words. k, thanks, bye...




...is what I probably would have said, right after seeing it on thursday. I felt utterly satisfied about what Gary Ross, together with the autor Suzanne Collins and the amazing cast have conjured here. I realized, out of the few adaptions I have seen so far and actually read the book in advance (I only recall recent adaptions like "The Road" or "The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo" (swedish version)) this was the closest a director ever got to the original. They could have messed it up, big time. But they included so many details I was really happy about seeing them reappear on screen. Of course they also took out some stuff, but none of it really important enough to make me go, "Nooo, why would you do that, that was so substantial?" And knowing this, I think, the filmmakers had a really hard job, putting all this in 2 hours and 20 minutes. It sounds really long but at no part I had the feeling that this or that scene was too much. More like the opposite. I wished some things could have been prolonged and in some parts it appeared a little bit rushed. But then again, they couldn't have made a four hours long movie, right? Although, I would have been in for it! ;) 

So what else can I do but wait for the 22nd of November 2013, when Catching Fire will be released?
Exactly. I'm going to do what I urgently felt to do right after getting out of the theatre on thursday. I am going to rewatch the movie. A lot. 

Along these lines "thank you, for your consideration".

Tuesday, March 13, 2012

catching fire.




Hello friends. I am currently re-reading "the hunger games" since it's only 9 days left for the premiere of the movie (still don't know if I am able to go on the premiere-day but i keep my fingers crossed) I decided to buy the english hardcover versions, since I only read the german versions last year and I feared there might be some confusions while watching the movie. But actually I just want to enjoy the read once more.

I have been thinking about some changes concerning my weekly reviews and found it would be nicer to change it into a monthly review and therefore make it more detailed. I decided to start this month and that's why from this week one I will no longer post any weekly reviews. Since my other entries are more rare and unregular, the blog appeared to consist of reviews only. And I often found myself on sundays with the thought "Oh no, I haven't taken a picture for the weekly review, yet" and I don't really want to have that feeling that I need to be under pressure because of a regular blog care.

In other news, Spotify is finally available in Germany, in fact I only got to know about it yesterday, when a friend showed me a news article writing about the launch on March 13th. I remember how I tried to cheat on the website and pretend I was from the USA. I was even willing to pay the 4,99 $ per month to be able to listen ad-free but then I still would have needed a foreign credit card. Shucks!
Now this might be a start of a new era. I think this might even end some piracy careers. I already sent a monthly fee of 4,99 EUR to enjoy musical wonderland when I come home today. This is going to be delightful!

Wednesday, March 7, 2012

teen crush.

He is 19 years old and I have a huge crush on him, although his trousers might be too short.  Say "Hi" to Mr. Josh Hutcherson. Soon to be a major movie star. Mark my words. 

© Teen Vogue




































Being asked about a role model that inspires him he answered: Ryan Gosling. Good boy!

Did I mention that I can't wait so see the frigging HUNGER GAMES movie?? I don't know what's going on with me right now, but I haven't been so excited in a long time. There are questions coming up like: Oh my, in which theatre am I going to watch it, big screen? Or in a rather small room with not so much audience. What the hell? And I am freaking out, since that one theatre that only plays OV movies is only playing the movie before 5 pm. Why why why! I want to see it punctually on March 22nd!! No, actually I want to see it right now!

spring is coming.


week 09 - 27/02/12-04/03/12


I SAW :: JANE EYRE
I HEARD :: lots of ACTIVE CHILD and M83
I READ :: PANDEMONIUM by Lauren Oliver
I ATE :: tofu goulash
I DRANK :: too much wine
I DISLIKED :: posteventdepression
I LIKED :: those one and a half hours with ACTIVE CHILD on tuesday <3
I BOUGHT :: only food stuff