21 July 2011

OUTFIT DU JOUR [21.7.]

The weather here in Austria is pretty disappointing, it's rainy, cloudy, windy AND it's almost the end of July!! Soooo, that's why Felix and me are escaping to Rome for a week and hope that the Italian sun will be happy to welcome us :) And I'm looking forward to taking lots and lots of pictures to share later on!!! The outfit below was the one I wore last week to a friend's birthday party.










all photos by: [entertainment scrapbook]

20 July 2011

BOOK REVIEW: "The Secret Diary of Adrian Mole Aged 13 3/4" - Sue Townsend

photo source: [forbookssake.net]
This classic British novel by Sue Townsend set in the suburbs of 1982 which is read by almost everyone in 7th or 8th grade in Great Britain is famous for its highly sarcastic and cynical as well as far ahead of his age main character!

The book is written in short diary entries in the time span of about a year and a half. Poor Adrian Mole has to deal with his mother who is currently having her midlife crisis and his clumsy father who doesn’t seem to be good for many things. He only has one friend as he regards himself too intellectual for kids his age, however, he has a good relationship to his grandmother who is there for him when his parents are not.

To begin with the positive aspects, the character of Adrian manages to make you laugh at least thrice per page and his attitude is simply hilarious. His comments to himself, his perception of life and his always knowing everything better are one-of-a-kind. Townsend’s style of course supports this attitude wonderfully, as if she truly were Adrian Mole or at least a 13 ¾ year old teenager feeling exactly these puberty driven feelings.

However, I myself lost interest in the not so spectacular contents of the book and couldn’t help but ask myself if Townsend ran out of ideas at two thirds of the book. What is more is that Adrian’s oh so funny attitude slightly loses its drive and its charm towards the end of the book coming off as rather annoying by then.

All in all, it’s a very quick, fun read with a superb entertainment value most of the time, however, the story loses its focus and creativity at some point. For me, comparing it to other 4 stars books, it’s not as engaging, so…

 

18 July 2011

OUTFIT DU JOUR [18.7.]

This was my outfit for a big family reunion we were invited to. I really like the style of the pants with all the tucks and the crotch being a bit bigger than with normal pants. (Without the belt, though, they actually look kind of weird as the button is placed so low.)



all photos by: [entertainment scrapbook]


17 July 2011

MOVIE REVIEW: "Last Night" (2010)

This was just a really, really beautiful movie. The story begins at a party where Joanna (Keira Knightley) sees her husband’s coworker, the gorgeous Laura (Eva Mendes), and suspects them of having an affair. At home the conversation ends up in a fight and the next day Michael, Joanna’s husband (Sam Worthington), heads out on a business trip with Laura. At the same time Joanna surprisingly meets an old friend and a past love of hers, Alex (Guillaume Canet), whom she used to be in an on-off relationship before marrying. The story is told from two locations, Michael on his business trip in Philadelphia, and Joanna spending her day in New York. I wouldn’t want to reveal any more details about the story, as only in the movie, can it be told and shown in the perfect way.
This was one of the best movies I have seen in the past few months and I can probably only find things that I could praise about it.
First, the actors: Keira is simply a goddess, I adore her! Looking beautiful in the movie and her acting was just as perfect as always. I loved the actor of her long-time friend, Alex (Guillaume Canet), especially his French accent and the fact that he is a writer living in Paris :) Eva Mendes fit perfectly into the cast and her role as well. And Joanna’s husband, Michael, even though I haven’t seen him in any other movies before, completed the group of 4 main actors really well.
Second, the story-telling and all the little details around it: The shooting locations seemed carefully chosen, the music was mesmerizing and used at the best moments. The whole atmosphere created was very intimate, enveloping you emotionally into the story. I even think the ending couldn’t have been done any better, even though I have read critique about that from some people, who have seen the movie as well.

Third, simply the general impression: I can surely say that “Last Night” will be counted as one of my favorite movies. It’s possible that you need to be in a relationship, or at least have been in one, to form that emotional bond with the characters. It is the question, “Will my partner stay faithful and love me enough, to be able to resist the temptation of a beautiful woman being around him and not giving in to his actual desires?” portrayed in a cinematographically amazing way. I would recommend this movie to anyone who feels like watching a story with great acting and heart-felt emotions!



16 July 2011

15 July 2011

MOVIE REVIEW: "Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind" (2004)

I’ve heard so much about this movie, since its release in 2004 it’s become quite an independent classic. The press and critics were all very positive and favorable towards the movie and it even won an Academy Award for Best Screenplay. Ergo: I had to see it.
The film starts off to quite an inconvenient scenery and some great music, when we get to see the very exceptional characters of Jim Carry and Kate Winslet meeting for the first time. However, there is some strange feeling in the air, both don’t seem to be in their best spirits. Soon there’s a twist in the story and we are introduced to the very unique nature and contents of this movie.
It’s about the company Lacuna, Inc. deleting people from your memory by your request. In “Eternal Sunshine...” Kate’s character Clementine let Jim’s character Joel be removed from her memory after a terrible fight and a down-phase in their relationship. As an act of revenge, Joel does the same. However, Lacuna’s team has a hard time achieving their mission and doing their jobs, as the process turns out to be quite complicated in Joel’s case. To know why and, watch the movie!

Basically, the main story line takes place in one room where the removal of Clementine from Joel’s memory takes place. However, we get to see lots of memories by Joel as well as Clementine, and in addition to that we get to know the employees of Lacuna who all add to the story becoming very intriguing (furthermore, they are all played by known actors such as Mark Ruffalo, Elijah Wood and Kirsten Dunst). As things get more and more complicated, the plot gets more and more exciting and the movie raises some quite intriguing ethical questions which are food for thought.

Negative points could be that the narrative is quite confusion sometimes, however, in the end everything should be clear to the average viewer who is willing to think a bit. Maybe there is even too much of awkwardness in the air from time to time, preventing us from being able to relate to the characters at some point.
Nevertheless, “Eternal Sunshine of a Spotless Mind” is a very intelligent, creative, unusual movie and for that alone it ought to be applauded. However, what’s more is that the plot is very well executed and thought about by the writers. Behind the façade of a science-fiction movie (whose idea reminds of Inception by the way) there is also a very moving love story conveyed in this film. Two thumbs up!


photo sources: [imdb.com], [gointothestory.blcklst.com], [inquisitr.com] & [screencrush.co.uk]

12 July 2011

BOOK REVIEW: "Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close" - Jonathan Safran Foer

photo source: [amazon.de]
The second novel by acclaimed author Jonathan Safran Foer of “Everything Is Illuminated” fame tells the story of 9-year-old Oskar Schell wanting to find out a secret his father left behind after dying in the tragic events of 9/11. It’s a book about the effects of the death of a loving father on his son, but also about the effects of the birth of the very same man on his parents, 40 years before, and their stories.

The novel starts out with some heartwarming scenes explaining the loving relationship between father and son which the son thinks about a few years after his father’s death. His memories are caused after finding a key in his dad’s old stuff with the name Black on it. He decides to go meet every single person with the surname Black in New York in their apartments and ask them if it was theirs. He regards this mission as his father’s last will and in his subconscious this project helps him get closer to his dad and not have to admit that his father is no more with him.

In the meantime, we get to read a letter by Mr. Schell’s mute turned father to his unborn son, some 40 years before the key-event, and in addition to that a letter by Mr. Schell’s mother to her grandson. Both are war refugees originally from Dresden and we get to know their tragic and extremely moving stories in these very personally written parts.

All in all, Foer manages to make the stories of the three main characters quite engaging and touching. However, whereas the story of all New York’s Blacks seems somehow unrealistic at some point and, even more, a bit useless and over the top, as it has no positive effects on anyone, the grandparents’ letters (especially the ones telling the grandfather’s youth and early adulthood) appear to be quite overwhelming. Their letters are very honest and the content is quite extraordinary and therefore highly interesting and captivating.

I liked the language Foer uses for the respective characters very much as this style of writing is quite special. Little Oskar has a very entertaining and amusing attitude and the language he uses suits this attitude perfectly. The grandfather often has to speak through written words as he is mute and so what he writes is even more important, for him as well as for us to read. The grandmother’s story is calmly written and not as eventful as the rest of the novel’s contents, but the more heartfelt and touching.

As a conclusion, I think the book could have turned out even better with Oskar’s story a bit more realistic and the ending more inventive, but even so, all the three stories about becoming an orphan, being a refugee in war and handling an unfulfilled marriage are extremely moving & incredibly close.

P.S. Let’s hope that the movie releasing next year with Tom Hanks and Sandra Bullock as Mr. & Mrs. Schell in the leading roles will be a truthful attempt to picturize a novel that is driven by such strong feelings.
 





10 July 2011

OUTFIT DU JOUR [10.7.]

Wore this jeans jacket and dress going to watch "The Tree of Life" at the cinema with Felix (you can read the review about the movie in one of the older posts). Loving the summer season for finally being able to wear flowy dresses again & thejeans-trend is one of my favourites this summer (some kind of a jeans-blouse is still on my wishlist)!!







all photos by: [entertainment scrapbook]


5 July 2011

OUTFIT DU JOUR [5.7.]

This was my outfit for the alternative club-bar CLUB BERLIN in Vienna's inner city. It had some alternative/rock/grungy music so I think the outfit was a good choice ;) I was there with some friends from all over Europe who I just got to know through an exchange programme.




all photos by: [entertainment scrapbook]

2 July 2011

MOVIE REVIEW: "The Tree of Life" (2011)

My expectations for The Tree of Life were quite high: first, because of the cast (however, Sean Penn only has a strange supporting role that seems to go nowhere..); second, because of the cinematography as seen in the awesome trailer; and third, because the movie won the palme d’or in Cannes!

Well these expectations turned out to be too high, whatsoever. The first 15 minutes of the movie leave you wanting to know what’s going on while the non-linear narrative is anything but helpful either! However, what follows is another 15 minutes of puzzling impressions, as we get to see pictures from outer space, strange galaxies, great waterfalls and… dinosaurs.. yes dinosaurs. 

Half an hour passes by leaving the audience quite bewildered by what they’d just seen. However, let me jump to the positive aspects of the movie: After the somehow failed first 30 minutes follows a story of a suburban family in the 1950s and the problems they have to deal with, seen from the perspective of an about 12-year-old child. 
 
The cinematography is nothing but stunning, every single shot is beautiful. The acting ensemble is fantastic, with Brad Pitt and newcomer Jessica Chastain as his wife acting very commitedly. There are also superb perfomances by their three sons. The story itself is quite depressing at some point, but also very realistic. What’s strongly missing are dialogues to bring us closer to the characters. There is very little talk in the movie, of course intended by director Terrence Mallick, but some dialogues and a bit less of whispered narration by some of the characters would have helped the movie to connect with the audience.

Unfortunately, the spiritual and fantasy-like narrative somehow ruins the ending  where Sean Penn has his  appearance. The audience is bound to make up their minds about what’s going on once again. Were the movie a bit shorter, we would maybe be up for it; after two hours of hardly any talking, however, the ending should not be that confusing.

All in all, the middle part of the movie is the main part, making it an appealing and intriguing watch with simply fantastic shots of the beautiful sets and brilliant acting performances, however with the beginning and the ending somehow failing and the missing dialogues you cannot but ask yourself why exactly it received the palme d’or.





photo sources: [moviesonyouko.com], [filmbabble.blogspot.com], [armchairc.blogspot.com] & [at.abinskino.com]






1 July 2011

MEET THE BLOGGERS

FELIX  [19]
Studying at the marketing academy, living in Vienna

> languages

> feel good movies

> alternative/electropop music

> spring & summer

> my piano, my keyboard and composing on them 

> background music for everything


> indie fashion

> tragic novels

> Bollywood 

> London & New York

> Badminton & Inline Skating

> TV drama series 

> being myself


VERONIKA [20]
Studying "International Development", originally from Kiev (Ukraine) & living in Vienna

> high heels

> dresses

> cats 

> books

> tea

> the sea

> creativity

> magazines

> sushi

> Paris

> everything French

> notebooks

> writing

> movies

> being different








 OUR BLOG

> fashion 


> outfit-posts

 
> photography



> recommendations: songs, .... & other things which inspire us



> parts of our daily lives




> reviews: movies, books, music albums


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