Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time
Genre: Action/Adventure
Director: Mike Newell
Screenplay: Boaz Yakin, Doug Miro, Carlo Bernard
Starring: Jake Gyllenhaal, Gemma Arterton, and Ben Kingsley
After a great act of courage witnessed by the King, Dastin is at once adopted by the King and raised as one of his sons, a prince. As an adult, Dastin travels with his brothers and uncle for battle, except he is persuaded to wage war upon the wrong city. This decision changes his life and leads Dastin on an adventure to save his name and his existence.
This film, based off the popular video game, is an action/adventure that achieves its main goal of a superb visual experience. The world depicted in this film is gorgeous as well as believable. The sad thing about these movies, is that they tend to be visually awesome, but the story and acting leaves you with an eh. The acting in this film was as well as I expected. There were certainly no Oscar performances, but a certain level of excellence was expected with the likes of Ben Kingsley, Jake Gyllenhaal, and Alfred Molina. They add a little class to the film and keep their characters believable. The only thing that would have made this film better would have been a stronger focus of the story. I felt at times the story was presented to us as the outline of the real story. There was just so much emphasis on look that they seemed to forget that there is more to a story than a plot. It still wasn’t a terrible film, though for personal fears, I could have done with less snakes. *shivers*
As I said before the acting was okay. I don’t think that it is within Ben Kingsley’s range to be terrible anymore. Jake Gyllenhaal was at his usual par. The only thing remotely different about him was his well defined physique. I certainly have nothing to complain about that. Gemma Arterton seems to be the newest British import for actresses. Her face is popping up everywhere you look. She really is not a bad actress, and I believe there will be a lot to look forward to coming from her future performances.
I will leave this review with one last comment. It is a question I kept asking myself throughout the entire film. Why is it that a film portraying a time period of the past that does not take place in America must always feel the need to use British accents to further the sensation of a foreign culture, regardless of that culture actually being in England? I don’t get it.
I give this film 3 Buttery Kernals.
Coming Soon: The 31 days of Halloween
Braid out.. My experience.
So. Braiding. Yeah.
I am a weirdo, and learned to braid in a weirdo fashion. The most basic braid I learned was on my Barbie when I was younger, behind the recliner. I guess I liked to sit there, I don't really know why.
I learned to french braid by working in a group home for the developmentally disabled. One of the young ladies had hair down to her butt, and loved for her hair to be played with. I read an article on french braiding and tried it on her hair until I could get it right.
With this great knowledge under my belt (giggle) and some youtube videos and advice, I began my braid out.
My hair is still sort of short. So, yeah, no clue what I was getting into. I got about three braids in, and my arms started to hurt. Plus, all of my braids had giant poofies on the end. I was getting distraught.
In walks my husband. Here is our conversation:
J: What are you doing?
Me: *whining* attempting to braid my hair, but I have short hobbit-like arms and am having difficulty with the back
J: I could help.
Me: Do you know how to braid?
J: No, but you could teach me.
Me: Hrmmm.. Okay
So I undo my first braid and I show him how to braid. He nods his head, grabs some of the coconut oil I am using in his palms and rubs it together. He has me sit inbetween his legs, and goes to town. A minute or so later he asks "Can I twist the hair as I braid? It makes it easier." I tell him to do what he wants. 15 minutes, and he is done.
I touch the back of my head, not expecting much, but to my utter shock... Jeff is good. JEFF IS REALLY REALLY GOOD AT BRAIDING!!! Not only are his braids great, He doesn't haven the poofies on the end like I have!!!! What the hell!? Who did I marry? Vidale Sassoon!? I ask him had he ever braided hair, and he looked at me blankly. "How did you braid this well on your first try?" his response? "I'm good with my hands." He washes his hands and continues to watch "Countdown" With Keith Olbermann. Well. I'll. Be. Damnned.
The next morning I take the braids out of my hair, not knowing what to expect.
LAWLERSKATES
MY. HAIR. IS. HUGE.
It is the biggest I have ever seen my hair in my life. Here are some pics from when i unbraided it. I apologize, I was taking them, and I am not the greatest picture taker.. of myself LOL
Yeah the back looked a little crazy. I worked on it for a while after that Glamour shot right there.
Now, to give you a bit of a reference, I must show you what my poof normally looks like...
Happy Girl Hair: I love them
Happy Girl Hair is a blog that show the different hair styles on two young girls. She also shows her way of taking care of their hair.
The woman that runs the blog adopted two children from Ethopia. I just love reading her blogs and watching her informative videos. Her two kids are too cute to boot, and when I am having a bad day I like the hop over there and look at their different pictures. They make me smile. They also make me sort of long for kids.. LOL. Anyway, This is one of her blogs I found really informative. I have been having a lot of breakage with my detangling in the shower. I think I am going to give her methods a go.
Absent, You bet I been!
Hey guys!
No real hair entry today. I just want to explain why in the past couple of weeks my entries have been sparse.
I am in school right now, and normally that isn't a problem. However, Math (Specifically Algebra and Trigonometry with Analytical Geometry) is KILLING ME. A lot of my spare time is devoted to this class. I will get the entry up about my braid out this week. I think you will find it as hilarious as I did. Hint: My husband makes a cameo.
I will talk to you guys soon!
AfterLife
Genre: Horror/Thriller
Director: Agnieszka Wojtowicz-Vosloo
Screenplay: Agnieszka Wojtowicz-Vosloo, Paul Vosloo, and Jakub Korolczuk
Starring: Liam Neeson, Christina Ricci, and Justin Long
Anna Taylor wakes up in a morgue finding out that she’s dead according to the funeral director. He explains to her that she had been in a terrible car accident and had died. He can talk to her, because he can speak to the dead. Anna has a hard time believing that she is dead and tries to fight it even attempting to contact her fiancé. The funeral director tries to help her accept her fate, so that she’ll move on and not be trapped forever in a coffin. The only problem is that Anna just doesn’t believe she’s dead.
I, personally, am a fan of scary or weird films. I believe that it is much more of a challenge to make something completely fantastical believable. To be honest there are a lot of movies that barely make a scream believable and come off as campy. Even though their bad, I still find enough to make fun of to be entertained. That being said there is a limit with bad films, where even I cannot find a smidge of entertaining value.
I eagerly picked up this film because I thought that it would be decent being that Liam Neesonn is in it. He’s a solid actor that is usually in good films. While this film was not terrible, it was not a great memory either. The first thing I will always remember about this film is how naked Christina Ricci is throughout it. It really makes the film awkward. Unnecessary nudity is normal commodity of a scary movie. Why that is, I have no idea. Beyond that, the story does attempt to be thought provoking and leave you guessing as to what is really going on. That attempt alone is enough to give the film credit. Most scary movies rely on creative, gory death scenes and nudity leaving not a lot for the actual story. The movie wants you to keep asking yourself, “Is she dead or is she alive?” throughout the entire film. Also, I think it wants you to ask yourself, “Who is this creepy child?” Why have the kid in it otherwise?
Liam Neeson is a profound actor. This however isn’t a shiny example. He was by no means terrible in this film. It just felt as if he was not trying at all. He had a more commanding presence as Aslan, and he was just voice acting then. Whatever it was I expected from this film after seeing he was in it, I sure didn’t get.
Christina Ricci played Anna. Here is my problem with Christina Ricci. She always seems to play the same character. Granted her acting skills were a little higher than her usual par in Black Snake Moan, she always plays characters that there is something off about them. This film did not stand out. It was that same girl with something off whether it be drugs, death, or werewolves. I won’t say that I dislike her as an actress. She is alright and fulfills some purpose. There have been roles she played where you could not think of any other actress as the character. In her defense, her acting career could be the result of Hollywood’s favorite pastime, typecasting.
Justin Long is also in this film. He plays Anna’s boyfriend. Sadly, beyond that, there is not a whole lot else to be said about him in this film. This is not really his fault. The writing for his character was extremely limited and didn’t offer him a whole lot to work with.
I give this film 2 Buttery Kernals.
Coming Soon: Prince of Persia
The Back-Up Plan
Genre: Romance/Comedy
Director: Alan Poul
Screenplay: Kate Angelo
Starring: Jennifer Lopez and Alex O’Loughlin
Zoe has decided to take matters in her own hands and get artificially inseminated to have the baby she’s longed for, since she believes she will never meet Mr. Right. Fate always has a twisted sense of humor and throws Mr. Right into her midst right after her procedure. Zoe has to now juggle an impending pregnancy with her feelings and fears of an impending relationship.
It is your typical romantic comedy, with a baby twist. The best way to describe this film is cute. It was the best romantic comedy that I’ve ever seen, but I still enjoyed it. I actually saw this in the theater, and didn’t feel that I should have waited for it to come out on video. The addition of the baby conflict added for some new twists and enjoyable jokes over the numerous awkward situations both characters found themselves in.
This is Jennifer Lopez’s return to the big screen, and it was a pleasant return. She seemed at ease, and her acting was more natural, very similar to her performance in The Wedding Planner where we all fell in love with her. Her comedic timing in this film was not her best, but it has certainly improved since Monster-In-Law. Maybe her next film will be even better.
This was Alex O’Loughlin’s first major picture debut. We’ve seen him before on short lived shows such as Moonlight, Three Rivers, and this fall’s Hawaii 5-0. He’s not a bad actor and there seems to be a lot of potential with him, not to mention his good looks don’t exactly hurt his case, either. I wouldn’t mind seeing him in more films, especially since his television career hasn’t exactly panned out yet.
I give this film 3 Buttery Kernels.
Coming Soon: AfterLife
This Is Your Life
As you may have noticed, I haven’t exactly been updating here lately. My original goal was to at least update weekly. The problem I’ve been facing with this is that there haven’t really been a whole lot of changes since my last post. That is until recently. I will now reward you with an extra long post.
I am still on the hunt for a job. My previous attempts leaving me with nothing, I decided to venture back to my roots and go with a familiar staffing agency. I received my last job through the same agency and thought that my luck might be better even if I only receive some temporary positions. That certainly didn’t go as well as planned. After driving all over Las Vegas to one currently closed branch to the other open branch, I found the service here in Las Vegas to be a little stressed and so far not exactly helpful at all.
My luck was not with me, which I’m beginning to dismiss entirely. My luck where Vegas is concerned was never present before, I should not be surprised to find that it is not here now, a fact that has led me not to pursue gambling since the first trip out here. The turn of events with the staffing service that insisted on referring to me as Kristen (not a bad name just not close to being mine) and asking me if I ever received an email (and no, I still haven’t) has left me dissatisfied and hopeless of getting an office position or something along that environment.
I may not have a job, but I still have bills, bills that I’m literally just scraping by with. This led to my current branching out in my job search, retail, and has now led to a couple of interviews. They seemed to go alright, but I don’t want to jinx anything. I’ve always been one who prepares for the worst and likes to be surprised by the good. I have the same outlook where criticism is concerned. I can take bad criticism. In fact I prefer it, because I know how to fix it. When I get good criticism I try to hide the blank look on my face with a small smile. I know there are some of you that know this look. I don’t handle good criticism very well, and yes, I realize that is not normal. I have never been one to claim that I’m normal. I guess it is also has to do with the fact that I really don’t like to flaunt or show off.
To add to my financial ruin, I got a lovely overdraft scare from my bank this week. I never have been one to pay minute attention to my accounts, but because they are both practically nonexistent, I now, have them recorded down to the last penny. My mother would be very proud. Why if my organizational skills have recently hulked out in my time of disparity would I receive an overdraft fee? Apparently, when I transferred the last of my savings into my checking and clicked the two confirmation boxes that followed the transfer it was not in fact confirmed by the bank……ever. I will admit fault for not double checking my balance the next day before paying my bill, but I’ve never had to before. I did call them today to ask for forgiveness, and the nicely obliged to remove it, so yay?
The state of my finances have led me to consider panhandling at the local corner of the interstate. I remember when I helped my brother move out here there was a midget on that very corner the whole during my entire stay. He’s not there now, so this leads me to believe in progress. I figure all I really need is some strong sunscreen, a few gallons of water, and a collapsible chair. I briefly considered bringing along my iPod, but I don’t think that will help the desperate impression I’d be trying to convey. If I don’t make any money at least a may sweat my ass into a size 10. Can’t go wrong there?
This brings me to discuss to newer issues with my body. Every year since college my wacky skin springs something new on me. This year it was heat rash. I now have to be careful of the sun, because I break out in annoying hives. It’s even more fun when they break out on your face, which I now have learned. Being that my skin’s personality is as random as my own, I did not believe that it was heat rash, but rather eczema. Fact 1: The way one treats eczema is exactly the opposite way of treating heat rash. Fact 2: If heat rash is treated like eczema, it gets worse…..a lot worse. That was an awesome two weeks of my life.
My second issue with my body is my weight. I want it to be known that I am a big girl, and there is sure as hell nothing wrong with that. I’ve been a big girl since high school, granted I was smaller in high school than now, but still singing plus size praises. I do not believe that I’ve ever been made fun of for my weight, at least that I’m aware of. I am probably one of the lucky few that didn’t have to deal with that. I’m sure there was someone at some time who didn’t like me or someone I may have pissed off that threw weight related slurs my way just none that I paid attention to. You have to make yourself into who you are, because the only thoughts and comments you will ever be forced to listen to are your own. It’s not the voice of the popular girl from high school who rants in your mind as you lay your head against a pillow at night. Although, points for imagination and creativity if it is, but the main idea is that you’re in the driver’s seat. I think the hardest lesson to be learned is that it is just as easy not to care about something as it is to care. I would be lying if I said I was immune to society and negativity. I’ve got issues and a lot of them are with my weight. I’m not a saint people. They’re my own personal demons, not anyone else’s.
I’ve kind of adopted a “do’s and don’ts” of big girls, or as I affectionately call it, “The Big Girl Code.” This code could possibly be the very reason I didn’t get a lot of crap for my weight in high school. Who was I to care, when I was following my code. It doesn’t necessarily tell you how to live your life it just points out the various disadvantages and advantages of being a big girl in society’s skinny girl world, very reminiscent of a “choose your own adventure” novel. If you choose a specific action, then society is probably going to react this way. I felt that if I knew this outcome was going to happen, then I could prepare myself on how to deal with it. If I didn’t want to deal with something, then I chose the safer ending. It is not a perfect system being as limiting as it is freeing, but one has to deal with the world somehow.
This being said, I have finally decided to change my lifestyle. I’m not a big fan of the word diet, because society has presented it to be a short-term solution. I’m not really doing a whole lot to be honest. I’m just trying to apply balance to my life. I have been trying to make exercise into a habit, because I haven’t been active in forever. I got bigger once I stopped being active, so in there lies a big clue. I also am trying to relieve stress that way, because lord knows I have enough of that. I haven’t denied myself the foods I love, and I want to see how the balance thing works before I do. I have been eating better, because there is more time now and my SIL is showing me new and easy meals. I was a big boredom and stress eater. I always eat when I’m bored. Now I’m just replacing eating with exercise. I want to think that because I am no longer eating fast food everyday for lunch that I have lost 20 to 25 pounds already. This is a guess-timate based on my clothes getting a lot bigger. It could also be the result of it being so freakishly hot here, that my ass had no other choice but to sweat some of that off.
This is pretty much my randomness at the moment. The only other thing I’m really excited about is that my nephew is now a hug machine, which I cannot get enough of. My shows are all starting this week: Castle, Glee, Bones, Supernatural (my boys, sigh), and Dexter. It is sad I know, but this is my excitement. TNT will be running a marathon of the best of Supernatural starting at midnight tonight. For someone that literally just finished rewatching the entire series, this should not be of interest. I can’t help it though. Being single, you’re only left with the option of your personal eye candy, and I can’t deny myself what is so readily available. Sigh…..
Until next time……
Product Review: Tropical Traditions Virgin Coconut Oil
Author's Note: Tropical Traditions was kind enough to provide me with a sample of their product.
The dreaded cutting of the hair…
I think I need a hair cut. Nothing too drastic really, just a trim.
Why does this terrify me?
Let me start at the beginning of my hair cut woes.
I was 7.. I just moved to Indiana from South Carolina. The first thing my family did was get me to a hair salon. I wanted a jheri curl like my gramma.
The curl wouldn't take.
Apparently, the woman that was doing my hair in SC was not doing it correctly. She was relaxing my hair EVERY WEEK.
At this point and time I realize I was lucky to have hair.
The lady who tried to give me the Jheri curl had to cut off almost all my hair. leaving me with a puff of hair. Not the wet and wavy look my gramma had.
I burst into tears.
Everyone (family) who saw me tried to make it better by saying "You look like grandad now!" Just what every 7 year old girl wants.. to have hair like a man....
Throughout the years I have had horrible hair cuts. I've had beauticians that would not listen to me, or look at me like i was crazy. There are only two beauticians I trust. Cherilynn (who taught me what it means to go natural) and Margie (I haven't seen her since my wedding. She did my hair when I lived in Kokomo and was still relaxed). They listen to me, and support me in whatever I am trying to do. And if what I am doing is not a good idea, they will steer me in the correct direction.
Still, I am scared.
I look in the mirror and I have excellent length. Not uber long, but enough to make my cute little puff. It's growing slowly but surely. Love it. I am scared that its all going to get lopped off.
I need to trust in Cherilynn, because honestly? She wouldn't do anything I wouldn't want to do.
Things that I want to do to my natural hair.
These are things that I have not done yet, but will get around to:
- Braid out - I was reading an article over at Black Girl Long Hair that explained how easy a braid out could be! I am thinking after my shower tonight I am going to give this a whirl.
- Banding- I keep saying I am going to do this, but life gets in the way.
- Two Strand twists- After watching one girl do ONE twist on Youtube, I might leave this to the professionals and head to my beautician.
- Plopping- This is a new one that I had never heard of until about two weeks ago. Watch a Youtube vid here
- Henna- This is the big mama jamma. I am busy and tired.. This is like a weekend project.
- Twistouts- Which could be done after the two strand twists