Itazura na Kiss, Love in Tokyo Review

Well, I know that the series aren’t over yet, but… I do need to speak my mind and heart. And they say….. This is one of the SWEETEST Dramas I’ve ever seen to date.

You know how expectations can influence our linking about a certain song, movie or in this case, a certain anime and drama. So, let me start by explaining my relationship with “Itazura na Kiss” series along the years. I haven’t read the manga, but I did see the whole anime series a couple of years ago. The problem is… I saw this anime after seeing a bunch of killer animes in the same genre… As “Bokura ga ita”, “Lovely Complex”… And because of that, I was really excited to finally see an anime who would go through from the beginning to the stage where the couple is married and has kids… So I found “Itazura na kiss” in the recommendations. Unfortunelly, after seeing animes so intense as the ones I’ve mentioned… “Itazura na kiss” didn’t met my expectations at all… I’ve seen the whole thing, but to end up with just a feeling of disappointment. How can a series that go through the very first meeting stage to the “we have a child” stage, have so little character development? How can it be allways focusing around the same issues in their relationship? I mean, after seeing animes where the characters change drastically just within the high school period… I was bored by this anime. And by the characters who’ve shown no growth or even made sense sometimes.

I’m sorry, I know that it’s kind of a controversial opinion, and I know If by chance I saw this anime before seeing the best of the best before, I would have enjoyed Itazura na kiss anime more, but it didn’t happen. And because of that, I tried seeing the drama versions (either the Korean or the Japanese ones), but neither did grab my attention at all. Too much like the anime.

Even though, because this one was recent I tried to give it a shot. And thank goodness I did. This drama saved this series for me. Because, as Yuki Furakawa mentioned in an interview, the cast in general didn’t see the anime or the other various dramas versions, they’ve only read the manga. And that was brilliant! And I don’t need to read the manga to know this, but the interpretation that each of them gave to the characters and their loyalty to manga, made the whole story and relationships to the characters look a lot more realistic. Finally we see an Irie Naoki with emotions and with a body language and way of saying that go beyond the “mean” personality. And for that, Yuki Furakawa- You’re not only incredible handsome, and a tease, you’re brilliant, just as the Naoki you’ve created.  

 And you know what? In Portugal we have a saying that goes like this: “You don’t have a great men, without a great women behind him”, and with that, I have to say – Honoka-san, you started this so young, and it’s been a pleasure see you grow with each episode as Kotoko. And your chemistry as a couple, is amazing, and the fact that you’re 10 years apart (wich is no news to the drama world. Exemple: High School Love on), and you can have such chemistry, it amazes me.

And that’s it. I can’t wait for the final episodes that are to come, because I already know the story ihih ~ And I’m going be so sad and feel so empty when the series end. So, Thank You for being for giving us such a good time. This is by far the Japanese drama I’ve seen to date.

Wounds & Scars

I’m used to write about hope, about love, about beauty, even the beauty of life. Who am I kidding? No I don’t - Life isn’t easy, never was, never will… I used to watch others and admire them, see how happy they were… Or how blind they could be, only to see their wounds. Not some scratches, deep wounds. Things that changed them, than would have changed me. In my naivety I can’t help but think “Somebody heal them, heal them, get away, It never happened, please be a lie, please let me forget”. I know it sounds depressing, and nobody should live life in such a negative note, but, to deny the cruelty of this world and the suffering of people, and even our own, is to live an illusion. Because it doesn’t matter what you do, you can’t fully heal deep wounds, because they leave scars.

In similarity with some physical scars, emotional scars don’t quiet hurt, they’re just there, an impression of what the wound was. The shape, the color, all there, only to remind you of the pain, of the embarrassment, and is like getting hit all over again. Almost like when you lose someone you love. – You cry yourself to sleep, you wake up just like any other day, and then… You remember… And if the sun was shinning, birds were singing at sigh of the morning, even then, you go from smiling to pale… Because is like getting that phone call from the hospital all over again. And you go from paradise to hell in one second. No wonder some loses cause scars. But you can also move on!... Not it’s like a choice or something… You don’t chose to get over something, you don’t chose your feelings, but you can still have to pro-active on doing so.And because everything as an end, when the “mourning” stage is over, you feel stronger. So, no, I won’t be easier, life only get’s difficult, but with your own hand, life will be better… I Hope So. At least, I made an unpact with sadness, thanks to the ones I love.

EXO's "Miracles in December" Review

  I know, I know, I’m seriously late on this one,  it was released months ago… But! I have my reasons for being late. The most important one is that personally sometimes, when I listen to a new song, one possible first reaction is obviously not loving it. It was what happened with “Growl” for example – at first I didn’t quiet enjoyed, but a few weeks passed, I played it again one or two times, and BANG! It grew on me. Even now I don’t like “Growl” as much as I like “Wolf” (which was instant love), but I can listen to it and enjoy. Why am I saying this? Well, because with “Miracles in December” my nose twitched as a first reaction once again, and because I actually love EXO so much, I wanted to wait and see if my opinion changed before saying anything… So, here I am J

  Let’s start by introducing the song – Miracles in December. A song by EXO as form of gratitude to the fans for their success in 2013… *sees translation of the lyrics* “Just by thinking about it, I can fill the world up with you, Because each snowflake is your each tear drop”. Ahh… I’m sorry, but this is actually something that EXO usually does that I do not understand, and although this lyrics aren’t that compromising, it’s not the first time that They write something like this to the fans. We all know how EXO fans’ reputation is, rigth? To say words as deep  as the ones in the lyrics and dedicate them to people who you don’t even know?? Knowing how obsessive they are?? How does that make sense?

  I’m sorry, let’s move on to what really matters. The Christmas theme! I don’t understand why it seems that doing a Christmas Album or song is some kind of a Boys bands ritual. I mean, even N’SYNC made one back in the day. Although the melody and MV have Christmas spelled on them, the lyrics to aren’t about Christmas itself, it’s more like a love story (Oh, wait! They’re thanking  the fans… Yeah, right), and I like that. EXO has an hability to take something that has already been done and actually make it original and not boring. They did it with “Wolf”, and now with this song again. And the melody and their voices is pretty nice to hear, it flows and is sweet.  

  One thing that’s new to this song, is the formation: Only vocals included. And I must say, I also didn’t quiet liked this new formation. In the beginning not so much, but at the end, I didn’t felt that it was an Exo’s song, I felt that it was a Chen, Baekhyun and D.O/Luhan’s song… I’m sorry, but it was how I felt, I missed seeing them perfume as 12, and I missed that even more, when only the vocals started to perform and doing the promotions by themselves. I honestly feel like SM here should have gone back to the basics – use the vocals of EXO-K and EXO-M to do the Korean and Chinese version respectively instead of mixing things up. And I also say this because I feel that Suho and Lay voice’s would perfectly fit this song. And D.O would be perfectly capable of hitting Chen’s high notes in the Korean version (just listen to the beginning of MAMA – Korean version), and so would Baekhyun (altough They aren't as clean as Chen). But oh well, I guess you can’t argue with S.M… And changes are good. I mean… They sounded great.

  I know I shouldn’t complain even tough I still missed them as a whole, because Luhan is my ultimate bias, and I got to see him killing it actually. Which leads me to one good point of the song – the Chinese version, which in this case, to the ears of many listeners is slightly better than the Korean version. Not that the Korean is bad either but I think we can all agree that in the past, EXO kind of neglected the Chinese version in a sense that the lyrics didn’t sound as good…  (specially in “Growl”). Not the case here.

So, in the end, my impression of the song as whole haven’t changed, a few things still make me twitch my nose. Although I can’t say is bad either…  We can’t deny how beautiful the song is. But I think I would just prefer to wait for something more BANG as Wolf instead of having the members so tired and realizing this Album so soon.

  

So, my final verdict,(taking both versions in consideration) is… 3 Stars in a total of 5. And I’ll leave the MV’s of the two versions for you to enjoy.

The "Anesthesia" effect

  To enter in college, to start working on a job, or even to start a new romantic relationship or travel to a new city, you name it. Many experiences require work, sacrifices. Because it’s all so new, so fun, so fascinating, and even include new people on our lives, we may not even notice time passing by. And all the efforts and sacrifices? Barely noticeable. I would like to call this, the "anesthesia" effect. Because this is the entrance into the adults’ world, everyone is allowed to go by their own pace and take their own time, find balance. Unless you’re disappointed with your own results (which is a whole other subject), it’s all good. You don’t feel pain doing those unpleasant things like studying and waking up early (ewww).

  Well… Reality check: In similarity with the real anesthesia, the effect it’s different from person to person. Everybody has their own limits, but the end is always the same – it fades away. In a medical situation, if the wound is not healed- more anesthesia; If the wound is healed- Good, no pain, next! But that doesn’t apply to your daily life… And guess what! It only get’s harder, more difficult, more demanding, not easier, so at some point, it’s going to freaking hurt.

   This is where you lose your innocence. You have crisis. Different people react different ways – you can just go “I don’t give a f*ck” and party it all out (Because obviously friends help, so does family, but I don’t need to say that this path doesn’t end well, do I?). You can also find a productive escape, a hobby, an alternative – when well chosen, this actually really works. That was what I did, for example. I chose something that I truly adore, that has nothing to do with my major, where I met new people, and even now I can say that I love it. I wouldn’t trade for anything else, but at the end of the day, it is just a hobby, not the major focus of my life. So the anesthesia effect may only temporary. If by this point, you haven’t found a solution to your pain… Take a day off. It is needed sometimes. You might clear you mind and heart and refill your body with energy.

   So, sorry, there’s no magical recipe… Some things work, others don’t, it depends on many things… And a lot of people actually just have to endure it. Well… As I said, this is the adults’ world, right? And I made clear that this isn’t a physical pain, is psychological, right? So do something that adults do: bear with it, control it with the best of your abilities, suck it up. Because the efforts that you’re doing today, will only make you have a bigger skin tomorrow. And I’ll promise that next Monday I’ll read this before going to class as a motivation source.

Introvertion

  

Hello my fellow introverts… Was’up?!… Been introverting much?
  Agh… I know, I know! My jokes are bad… My apologies! Won’t do it again, I swear! But honestly…  Not that is an excuse or something… But would you believe me If I said that there’s a reason why I suck at jokes?... Yeah, guilty… I’m an introvert! And I’m not alone, or ashamed of it. Well… I do get embarrassed easily, but… The truth is, many misunderstanding are made about an introvert personality, misunderstandings that possibly are making you say “Why the hell is she proud of being an introvert?? That’s a bad thing!”. Well, let me just clarify two facts straight ahead.
  Fact nr 1: Society and it’s stupidity not only prefer, but also clearly benefits extroverts, even though the person in question don't deserve such privilege...  Those bastards… Go ahead introverts, call them names! I’ll let you just this one time.  This leads me to fact nr 2!
  Fact n2: Extroverts usually are very stupid and dumb… Do they seriously have a brain? I doubt it… I think I’m going to investigate more about that one my thesis in the end of my major in Psychology.
Ahhhh, my apologies, I know I promised I wouldn’t do that again… scratch that, this is the real fact nr 2:

  Fact nr2: Introverts many times are mistaken by anti-socials.

  Now listen to me, because I’ll only say this once… INTROVERTS ARE THE OPOSITE OF ANTI-SOCIAL!!! GOT IT? Good… And trust me on this, I’m a Psychology student! But Why I say this after all? It’s simple! Anti-social by definition are people with self-confidence, self-esteem and an evaluation about themselves too high. Basically, They think They are the best thing there is, so They treat everyone else as inferiors, and that’s why They can’t function well in society. Introverts on the other hand, have so low self-confidence and self-esteem that can’t help but feeling nervous and anxious on social situations, especially situations than involve a crowd of people (as for example, a public presentation). That’s why many times we are confused by anti-social, because being in that situations is distressful, agonizing even… And because of that clear uncomfortable state, we usually have an unpleasant expressions, or even behaviors, as being quite and keeping things to ourselfs (we introvert things, after all). But there’s also other thing that separates us from anti-social… They don’t like other people; They think they’re too good for them! We seek other people! We seek affection, friendship, love, endearment as anyone else… And many times, that is deprived from us, just because we’re not so “charismatic”, and sometimes people don’t seem understand that this anxiousness isn’t something that just disappears. Many times we are also succesfull, and have a pleasing social life, but still, you can understand that we sometimes can have a bad time.
  It doesn’t matter if you’re a charming and kind extrovert, or even an evil anti-social… Hate and discrimination will only come back at you! We all can be many things! But believe me, kindness it is the most valuable feature, so next time you see someone shaking before an oral presentation, give them a smile and a thumbs up! If you’re in a party with a group of people, and you see someone who is at the corner and seems to want to say something but can’t spit it out? Chat with them, one on one, nothing more is precious to us than that. Does this description makes you remember someone you know? Send them a message! (By the way, my cellphone number is +351… AFF Fine, I’m just kidding, I’ll stop it, I’ll stop it… ^^’).

  And please… Don’t mistake us for some rude anti-social, or just someone who is simply shy or quite who knows what to say, when to say it… (Remember, we are clumsy by nature, we never know what to say, we’ll never will!).

  I dare you to try and discover all the secret treasures that lies on the heart of any introvert.

And to end this matter, I here give to you, the same subject abborded by someone who you'll might like to hear:

Faith

  I’m afraid today I’m going to touch one of the mostly wisely avoidable topics… No, it’s not Politics (hate that)… It’s Religion! TA-DA! I know, I know… “Why the hell would we want to read your opinion or your beliefs??”… Don’t worry! I do not come here to judge or impose my ideals, that’s not the point of my blog at all… I’m not even going to say which one is the Religion that I grew up with. So If you were expecting that, I’m sorry but you probably should stop reading this… Because, this is going to be just one more of my post where I say everything, without saying anything concrete at all… I’m sorry, but I don’t believe in extremes. But for a start, because is such a delicate topic, I will start to clarify some major points:

•           Do I believe in God? I don’t know… Yes, I suppose.
•           Have I the tendency to believe in what I can’t see? No, not at all.
•           Am I Religious? Yes.
•           Do I practice that said religion? Not much.
•           Do I agree with Gay marriage? Yes. Love is love, for God’s sake! (ahah… Saw what I did here?)
•           Do I agree with abortion? No… Life should be the most treasured thing in this world.
•           Do I think that my religion and its own followers are better than the others? Absolutely Not.
•           Do I hate or have something against atheists? No!
•           Do I hate who is so passionate about other religions beside mine? No!
•           Do I have difficulty to comprehend the last two groups mentioned? Sometimes yes, sometimes not, as with everyone else.
•           Don’t I understand that these answers seem somewhat hypocrites because of their incoherence? Well… Yes…

  And that’s it… There you have it: a clear a simplified scheme of my opinions… I don’t know why, but people always seem to need this- a logical and understandable scheme of things… Other way, it’s very difficult for us to accept what it’s being said to us… Well, I’m sorry, but I think that specially when it comes to religion It’s stupid to only be logical… You have to listen to your heart! And everyone has a heart (…I think).

  I don’t think that I’m the one being hypocrite just because If I’m liberal enough to accept gay marriage then I should be liberal enough to accept abortion… Or I should do I as my religion says… That’s major bullsh*t (mind my language). Being religious shouldn’t be about being conformist and accept all the ideals pre-formed by some religion many years ago, it should be “I believe in this religion, as the base of my belifs, values and actions”…  I mean, I believe that is pretty difficult to actually agree with everything that the Bible says, or that the Alcoran or any other religious book or person says… And I also can’t comprehend people who say that without Religion we would be a much more advanced society in many aspects such as technologically… Although I can see where that comes from…  But still… That’s stupid!! Because of wars?? Please!  Don’t you comprehend the nature of the human being? We seek war, we seek our protection, our ambitions, religion by itself didn’t cause those wars, MEN caused those wars. And by the way… many times, but MANY times in history, societies were in danger of collapsing, disappear… You know what made them go through? Survive? FAITH! Where that faith did came from? Yeah… “God”! So no, without Religion we wouldn’t be a more sophisticated society… We would be dead… Or transformed in a bunch of robots… worse than animals! But that’s no reason to justify or making everything about your life also about God either.

  I think that the ones being hypocrites are the ones who don’t see anything besides what’s in front of them… Or the one who only see what’s not in front of them! Because, whatever you want it or not, Religion will always be hand with hand with faith… And that big word right there, is dictated only by your heart. So please… Remember that next time you encounter a conflict of beliefs… Whatever that conflict lays within yourself, or between you and other person… You can’t go wrong, when your heart say it’s right… And following that, respect is deserved andreceived, and faith can makes us do the most incredible things… And the most stupid ones as well.

Change

It seems like is when we’re having a tough time that we tend to eager more for a change, for a life turning event. Moving to a new home, a new country, changing to a new job or a new school, enter in college, go in a big trip, meeting new people, start a new serious relationship with someone, live with somebody else, becoming a parent. So many things can change our behavior and life’s perception. It takes only one of that events happening to somebody close to us that make us think differently.  And as we get older, is those changes that make us mature, grow in mind and spirit. And nothing says that those changes are going to be good, as matter of fact, many can be bad. We got to be humble, strong, face forward… That sounds cliché, I know, but only If you are able to conquer new responsibilities, to let go some things of your past that give you comfort but don’t give you independence (like daddy and mummys home) and lead you to be stuck in the same place for a long time, only then you’ll be able to embrace those changes in your life a became a fulfilled adult. Well… I see only advantages in change, isn’t that right? No wonder when life seems crappy, you desire change… Things get better! And you probably have that humble part down, because things haven't been easy. And let’s face it, you’re young, you should take advantages of the opportunities that you have while you can, of course! Not when you’re older.

That’s all true… But let just think things through… And some parents will love and thank me what I’m about to say right now… But you don’t have to go extreme… You don’t have to run away to a new country just as a way to erase the rest, for example! And we all know that it's not easy to grow up, but sometimes it's the little things that make the difference! And with time, If we grow up, we learn to select what matters and what doesn’t, and cope with it. And things like always saying “I don’t give f*ck” as mechanism of defense that sometimes is enforced in nowadays society, will disappear… Be honest, If you really don’t give a f*ck, you wouldn’t be saying that, or as matter of fact, you wouldn’t even be talking about it.

Regret

                                      

“If only I knew then what I know now”, “If only I could go back in time”, “If only I could resay or redo things I’ve said and done”, so cliché and used words that spell one only word: Regret.

I’ve already talked about how “what if’s” could influence our minds, how illusions are part of our lives… But the mistakes or the things that we wanted to do but didn’t do after all, can easily haunt us as well. To look back at a phase we were at in our lives and think “wow, that sucked, why did I put up with that?”, or even “why did I hang out with that person at all?”, and even if we don’t want it, that phase will always be part of us, there’s nothing we can do about it. Sometimes it hurts to look back, sometimes we feel ashamed remembering some episodes that happen that day because of that thing. These are normal reactions, and sometimes we take it in and learn from experience, and we even think that this new knowledge is our highest truth and the slogan of our lives. We think “Oh, I’m so wise, I’ve been through so much”, even If we learn that humility is a thing to value. We forget that the things that we’re experiencing now, are also object of evaluation, reflection, thinking… And that kind of attitude can bring us trouble too, and with that, before we know it, we’re hurting again.

People won’t change just because you changed. Mean people will still exist, people older than us that are more immature will still exist, people younger than us that are more wiser than us will also still exist. People won’t adapt to you, the world won’t adapt to you, and just because you have some self-called skills, you have no right to demand that same skill from others. And this, this is what’s called humility, and If you have it, karma will have less reasons to affect you, and life will smile to you. New beginnings are real, kind people are real, people who value that same things as you, are also real… So treat them well, If you feel insecure, don’t charge them with that by using aggression, don’t take them for granted, don’t give them reasons to bring your worst side to the surface, because that way, you’ll regret that later, and once again regret fills your mind and heart, and a never ending cycle is formed.

Unlove

How do you know that you have a broken heart? When every little thing that spells “happy puppy love” annoys you… When you read cheesy stupid things (like the ones written on this blog) and it disgusts you… When you hate yourself for falling in love in the first place. “I’ve should known this wasn’t right”. When you wish you could go back in time, and never let that person have any sort of impact in you. You might hate them, for many reasons that you may have… But at the end of the day, you’re the one to blame. Yeah, Yeah, Yeah… Why? Why does that person has to be so gentle when he/she doesn’t have any intentions or feels anything? Why pretend when you don’t even care? That’s all true… But you’re the one who misunderstood… The things that you called signs? Yeah right… “signs” you say…. You’re the one who created an illusion based on what if: “what if he/she falls for me?”, “what If we work out”, “what If we are forever”… Would be perfect, right? You might even think “I’ll never fall this hard for someone again… Not like this”. That might be true, who knows… But, don’t worry! It will be alright! Just, take your time. For some time, cut any contact you have with that person. Conversations? Only If necessary! And just like a baby learns to let go of mummy skirt… Let go of that person. Meet new people, change something! Dye your hair, buy new clothes. Move on. Get realist: nothing is forever. Because, what was truly yours once, it always comes back to you, one way or another. If you do that, you’ll remember that love not as “I was so stupid back then”, but with smile, because you learned, you prepared yourself for something bigger, you unloved.

Growing Up

Today, I got a broken heart… Today, the sun didn’t shine so bright… Today, I want to be loved… Today, I sink deep, and think logically… Today, I see the reality… Today, I’m really gonna put in practice the rule “I’m gonna treat people like They treat me”… Today, I’m no longer naïve… Today, I say the truth… Today, I learn that don’t being mean doesn’t mean that I allow people to treat me like They want… Today, I gain confidence on my qualities, and become humble by my mistakes… Today, I shut down people who only use me… Today, I try to see beyond the mirror… Today, I try not to be angry… Today, I won’t be stubborn…  Today, I look back and regret what I did wrong and I’m proud of what I did well… Today, I won’t defend myself desperately… Not to who puts me down. Today, I apologize… Today, I don’t force people to be what I want them to be… Today, I let time pass by… Today, I get motivated… Today, I seek my goals… Today, I’m fair with people…Today, I smile… Today, I don’t give importance to small stuff… Today, I learn with the past, live the present, and meditate on the future…  Today, I express thankfulness to who is by my side, and not in words, but with actions…

Maybe Today, nothing really special happened lol… But today, there’s still hope… Why? Because today, I may haven’t got a broken heart… And the sun actually shined as bright as usual… But just because today is today, I bow to all people, and take one more step!... Why? Today I just colded my mind, and warmed my heart … And with all that… What happen today after all? Today… I’ve just grown up. So, today, I’m happy.

Ps1 - I hope this little post actually helps to turn a bad day to a better one in someone's life :)
Ps2 - Feel free to follow me on twitter if you want, I would feel very honored ;) And that way you'll know when I update my blog. Here's the link: https://twitter.com/mariana_ginja

Hurt

My apologies, but tonight, I’m not in the mood to say how perfectly innocent and vunlerable people and the world can be. How love gives life such a joy. How people deserve second chances. Tonight, allow me to go a little darker…

 

People suck! Literally and not literally speaking. We all are afraid. We all have the survival instinct to defend ourselves. And in this world, we better have it. But true justice isn’t made by bloody hands, true justice isn’t made by lawyers.  Whatever is the girlfriend who cheated on the boyfriend (or vice-versa, I’m not a feminist, okay?), the lovesick person who got nothing more fun to do with her life than destroying healthy relationships spreading insignificant and confusing things as rumors. I mean… How low can you get? Are you that insecure that you have to push people down to think that you’re something? Are you a child? Can’t you resolve your problems like an adult? Girls and Boys that are in High School right now, I bet you can relate with this words… The thing is: learn. There is no excuse to be mean. Things like that aren’t proper behavior from young adults (and people call me immature, pff!). I try not to be like that, but sometimes… I get hurt. We all do. Bad things happen for no special reason at all. The world is unfair. Am I saying anything new here? A clue: NO! Stop victimizing yourself, grow some balls! You did something wrong? Apologize. But try not to do it too often, because that’ll be just a turn off.

In Conclusion: Remember, people may suck (or not), but you’re not here alone. What is an insult to you, it might not be for others. What is a big deal for you, it isn’t for others. Don’t expect that people have to have a College degree on pleasing you. ADAPT! You’re angry? You’re hurt? Great! Let’s deal with it in a healthy way then: cry, punch a wall, do boxing, muay thai, talk with someone who’ll listen, write on a diary, or on a blog (ahah) something to get that suffering out of you. You’ll see that in the end of the day, you’ll have a smile on your face and you didn’t accidently hurt back someone you love by transferring that feeling to them.  After all, what more do you want from people?

Ps- Oh, and honestly...  If you see someone hurting another person as just a watcher, and in the next day you are all kisses and hugs with the bitch/asshole, you’re honestly as bad as them. You don’t have to be mean, you would be lowering yourself to that evil person’s level, but at least have some common sense.

"The Hunger Games" - Review

This movie… Was a surprise for me! It was just another day at the movies with some friends… And we actually planned to see another movie (I don’t remember which one), but when we went to buy the tickets, that movie was sold out… We had to chose other movie instead, and so we did – we chose  “The Hunger Games”. Some of us were happy with that, other still wanted to see the other movie. I personally, didn’t know what to expect… I had no expectations! At least high ones… But when the movie ended… I can only speak for myself, but I think we were all impressed!

Great story line, intense moments, moments to laugh, moments to cry, moments to be scared and moments to be relief. We can easily get involve with the characters and with what’s happening to them. It's not every movie that has that factor! And it was what made me chose it for this review. Because this movie is a turbulence of emotions! And I’m going to admit… As you might have already understood by now… Romance is my Achilles’s heel! (ahah) And for the fans of young love, you’re going to like this movie!

The clothes on the movie were fun, and the special effects had quality (something that since we’re on 2012 I thought it was something guaranteed, especially when we’re talking about movies that reach the theaters, but some movies with also great story lines, have proved me wrong, I’m not gonna say names The Last Airbender coff-coff, but They did disappoint me). I don’t know well any of the actors, so I can’t develop a judgment on their acting…  but I can say this: I wouldn’t change any of them! I think They were great, no exceptions.  My favorite characters? Rue, Katniss, Peter and Haymich, by order. My least favorite? That would have to be Gale… Not that I disliked him… I’m actually curious to see what he’ll do in the second movie.  

I’m not gonna say much about the plot of the movie; because I believe seeing this movie with spoilers it ruins it. Also, If you can, go see it with your brother or sister! Why? I’m gonna say it by experience, as a younger sister, it warms your heart seeing your older sister tearing up when They asked Katniss the reason why she volunteered!
Well… That’s it! Oh, what is that? I am forgetting something? Well, I’m gonna be honest, I would love to make a comparison between the book and the movie, but If didn’t mention the book… It was because I didn’t read it! lol But don’t worry, I plan to! The movie got me interested, and I think that everyone that also enjoyed the movie as I did, should give the book a chance! After all, the book has lot more details to offer!

And once again, I say good bye with a soundtrack of the movie. I must say, the music on this movie isn't memorable as some are, but it stills accompanies the overall quality of this movie. A must see definitely, and one of my favorites so far.

 

Imagination

  Evolution gave us something amazing… Imagination… Amazingly annoying… Amazingly powerful… The source of every “super-human” event. The ability to dream, to imagine a better world, a different world,  a world where we live adventures and find our soul mate in between, where the most amazing fairy tales and love stories happen, where we only need a stick of wound to make magic, where vampires and werewolves exist, where we can dominate and do amazing things with the 4 elements that nature gave us…  But at the end of the day… Water will always be the source that moves us, that is part of us, not the opposite, air is what makes us be alive and with our feet well grounded, not fly around has we had wings. We can mold earth all we want, but earth will always be the one to tell our History, not the inverse! And fire may appear to be conquered by us a million years ago, but it still is as uncontrollable, unstable and destructive as ever was… We may be special, we may be unique in a lot of ways, but there is and it will always be something  above the human being: Nature. 

  We can’t control destiny… If such thing exists! We don’t chose our parents, who we meet, where we were born, what life make us deal with… But we still have the ability to dream, to chose, to make our own path… To be influenced by the right role models, to give attention to who we relate with, and avoid who we know is a bad influence , to build our home, and to take opportunities! Because imagination may hurt, and always will do so- hurt us… To make us imagine thousand of better possibilities… Unreal possibilities… After all… Let’s just face it! And excuse my language... But reality can seriously f*cking suck balls. And that moment where we came back to reality it will always take the smile out of our faces … But the ones who accomplish their dreams are the ones who keep that smile with a tear or two, and then think: “What can I do to be closer to that dream? What can reality give me?”

Disappointment

Hopping for the best… Hopping to be the best, to have the best, to know the best. Is that strange? Is it just me? Everybody has different priorities, but everyone seems to be looking for a little taste of being on top. With great power comes great responsibility (Fine… Kill me for using a movie quote, but it's true)… And high expectations, by the way! Never heard the portuguese expression “Higher the climb, bigger the fall”? It’s also true. When you fall in love, for example, even If you know the person well, you create an adorned version of him or her. An illusion, basically. Normally that version tend to emerge on people we don’t know that well, and has many qualities and is appealing to the eye and/or the heart, but is also deceitful, because obviously it doesn’t correspond to the reality. And that’s the reason why falling in love sometimes (okay, most of the times) makes us look stupid.

Don’t get me wrong, there’s nothing wrong with falling in love with someone new! The mystery sometimes can be so charming and lead to a felling so intense that it only can lead either to hate, or passion. Hate when the person reveals not to be what expected. Passion when exists a connection of some kind. After all, we all have our plus and flaws, and people can be together for a lifetime. All this can make love sound confusing and complicated… But who said it wasn’t? Since when is that simple? But if only people understood that being in love isn’t only feeling the butterflies and thinking all the time about how perfect that person is, falling in love actually is to look at a person, see their flaws, accept them, see their qualities, reflect them in a way that you bring out the best of the other person, not the worst.  

But we can’t do that If we don’t make mistakes, If we don’t get disappointed, because “the young hearts are foolish, they make such mistakes, too eager to give their love away ”. But that’s part of life! It’s normal to have that fantasy at first. After all… Who’s perfect? No one, but we have many time to find out. We don’t need to rush!

"Howl's Moving Castle" - My Review

Today, I’m going to do something different. Why? Someone actually told me “You see a lot of films, why don’t you discuss them on your Blog instead of talking about love and all that cheesy things?”, at first I was like “HEY! What’s wrong with cheesy subjects?”, but then I tought “That’s actually not a bad idea!”. So here we are today! But don’t worry, I won’t stop posting about “cheesy things”… And I have what I consider a special choice for my first “movie review”, Enjoy!

Don’t want cheesy things? Well I chosed a cheesy movie! – what a rebel.
So, the reason what I chose this movie is pretty obvious.  I’m not an expert, but I love anime, for some reason (and I’m excluding Hentai from this affirmation), anime seems to me the only type of cartoon series and movies that are entertaining for both children and adults, without making them not understandable for childreen and not considered stupid or boring by elders. “Howls Moving Castel” is not exception to that. I think it is not very discussable the opinion that Hayao Miyazaki is the best anime director. I liked “Spirited Away”, but for some reason “Howls Moving Castle” was a lot more fascinating to me. My theory in that is that “Spirited Away” is more commercial or I related more with the characters on "Howl's Moving Castle". My conclusion is that is probably a little bit of both. But that’s just my opinion. – perfectly arguable.
Yes, an average normal girl finding a cute, gorgeous, kind magician guy and him to fall in love with her it’s a pretty damn attractive idea. But the values, the perspectives on War and the way different people handle it, is also interesting and present in this film. And the intention behind people’s actions and choices and their personal history, it’s clear in this movie. Also, the physical aspect that it’s transmitted in this movie is subtle and in my opinion very relevant to express to people. The fact that someone young with a old body is recognize as just someone with a young mind with physical obstacles, leads to the importance of the personality of someone, and to not judge a book from its cover. – that’s sweet. And the idea of that someone who becomes lost in his own world and its own goals loses his heart even If is a kind person, that’s a pretty good metaphor.
The music in the movie is no less than expected from an anime and it is perfect for the context which is in. So, not wanting to be more spoiler for the ones who actually didn’t see it back in 2004, I'll just advice someone that only saw this movie back then or doesn’t see it in a while,see it again! This is a pretty good movie to repeat, You’ll probably notice some details you didn’t notice before.
Being that said, this movie is in my favorite list… ;)

And with this soulfull, brilliant and romantic soundtrack I end my first pseudo-movie review.

Emotion vs. Reason

It’s funny how we seem to tend more to see love when we’re on war… Funny, but not illogical, after all, it makes sense to search for one extreme when You’re experiencing the other. Because when you’re on War, the first thing you try to do is to protect your loved ones. But does that mean that you love them less when you don’t feel such a necessity to protect them? I don’t believe so.
So the problem isn’t in the feeling, people don’t stop feeling love just because They’re not on a war environment. The issue seems to be on the expression of that love. It’s true that people don’t express love all the same way, but at the smallest sign of danger, of hate, we could jump and scream the loudest we could just to say how much we love our family, friends, partners, and so on… Once more, a logical conclusion. But there’s still one important point missing here: emotions are not supposed to be logical… So what the hell is happening here?! Oh, I forgot… The good old emotion vs. reason drama. Many, many people since writers, philosophers, just any anyone with an romantic and artistic vein debated about this. And still it didn’t got old. Why? To me, the answer seems pretty simple and clear, but putting in to practice? That’s a whole other level. That answer is Yin Yang, balance, equilibrium, equilibrio, baransu.
In my opinion, one of the most important concepts to understand and search for in our life. Because in practice it is impossible to reach it, but it is a key to success and happiness. I repeat: success and happiness, not perfection. There’s nothing wrong with searching for perfection, If you’re conscious that it doesn’t exist such a thing… Same thing for imperfection. Truth is: it is what it is and work with what you have. That’s how you mix reality and faith. That’s how you can be logical and emotional. Because is from the moment you believe that thing can happen! ;)

Patience

People are funny… In one way or another, we seem always to prefer the asshole, and surround ourselves with people who hurt us. Sounds stupid, right?... Well, it’s not breaking news that the human being can be the stupidest creature on earth (and we call ourselves the rational one). But after all why we act like that? Well, We are impatient.

In a young’s person mind, consciously or inconsciously, we see the clock moving and moving fast and we don’t have time to think twice sometimes. So if someone that I don’t know at all says that loves me? Hell, I’m gonna take that opportunity. And when we wake up, we’re on a bad an intense relationship. Sometimes we actually find the one… But realistically the probability for that to happen is insanely low. There’s no need to be a genius to realize that.

Opportunities come and go, that’s a fact. And it hurts to give up on something that you know you want (Who said it didn't?). But that doesn’t mean that you should jump into every chance that you get. When you see an open window, door or whatever, search in your heart, is that really the path that I wanna go? Can I really trust that person? Your instincts are rarely wrong when you get in that personal space.  And time then means nothing, because you don’t actually see it pass.

And love is one of the things that you can’t rush into. It takes patience to find the right person. It takes courage to walk out on a dream or someone you love. It takes maturity to wait for the other person, whatever state They’re in. But the more you search, less you’ll find it. And love when is true love, Love can wait.  

Luck

Evaluations, exams… Why in the world they had to exist? Why should we prove ourselves? Why should I be compared to others?  Well, I could actually start a speech on how important is to society to be organized to be functional, and that everybody has their owns functions and jobs for that to happened, and that implies people having to be prepared to be in the category that They fought for, but that’s not my point here.

My point is, if you have an important goal to achieve, you’ll probably be putted on the spot. That happens to everyone (ok, almost everyone). It doesn’t matter if is an exam in high school, in college, to have you’re driving license, to become employed, If you’re doing it and you believe that you prepared yourself the most that you could, there’s still luck involved in that process. Especially in the last two examples. And when there’s so much  luck involved, you can’t help to be afraid, to be nervous, to think “What the hell is going to happen to me?”, you may not be the most religious person in the world, but you’ll pray then!

So What? Life is unfair, buhu! People makes mistakes, including you (what a shock). Sometimes you’re not lucky, something unexpected happens, you have a bad day, or you don’t have the support you need. Many things cause bad luck (just ask karma). But sometimes you’re lucky, you pass, good!  Learn with it, be humble. Appreciate it. Life will be much more kind with you. Same thing with love… If you’re THAT girl, and you find THAT guy, then don’t take it for granted. Fight for what you love, fight to be the best you can be at being yourself. Then the impossible loses the “im”, and you’ll not only surprise the others, but more important: you’ll surprise yourself, you’ll learn more and grow and become more wiser. So breathe once, think twice and GO!

Man vs Women

Relationships are complicated…  (Eureka!) It’s very difficult to find someone with who you click, and that you can’t stop thinking about.  Might be someone that you actually don’t see every day, but when you do, it makes your whole week… Someone that you already miss when you’re saying good bye and you’re seeing each other in a couple of hours... Yeah, love is strange, stupid… It sounds like an illusion sometimes, but in the right timing it can make a person a lot happier.

Why is so complicated after all? Well, wrong is very attractive and there for we end up falling in love with the wrong person. The sad thing about it? You know it! You know it’s wrong and you still want it. Yeah, you’re great together. He’s funny, charming and good looking. She’s sweet, innocent, avoids any drama and looks like a baby doll. But she has dreams of having a family and settling down, he wants to spend his life traveling (or vice-versa). He loves her, but has no time for her, he’s confused, he doesn’t want to hurt her, she thinks he’s her prince charming.

Enough with generalizations and examples, it’s true also that in some cases, even with all that obstacles, it works somehow. To exist bad, exists good. So the best thing to do is to recognize both. Be passionate, fight, but be realistic, be serious. Don’t search for qualities and flaws on the other person (you’re not their therapist), just know them. And don’t point them out, because no one knows better the quality and flaws of someone than the person itself and because you might be judging something that you don’t know that well.  

So… You don’t have time? Make time, it’s the easiest thing when you love someone. You’re confused? Don’t know like her/his personality or body? Learn to love her/his flaws and qualities, because you are human too. Change and be changed. That’s only way to love and be loved back. Experience is not needed to understand that. Inexperience sometimes makes it more real and pure.



Choices

There’s always a time in a young’s person life where life changing choices must be faced. And that time tends to be short, to be crucial, to be confusing. Things that adults… Ok, some adults, seem to already control… We don’t! It’s always about our future… It can be in school, in the relationship with our parents, in the relationship with our friends, but the thing that seem to be the most difficult one to get right, is love.

With love comes many questions in a person’s mind… “Am I loved back?”, “What should I do now?”, “Is this true love?”  And who knows the answers? Mummy? Daddy? Older Sister?  The Science Teacher? No, probably only you know the true answer and no one else. But to be in that state, you already made a choice: the choice “Yes, I’m in love”.

When you’re young somehow you’re always meeting new people and life seems full of opportunities… Where or Who to turn to? So what now? You can do nothing, that’s choice… You can wait and see, If you’re not a jealous person, because in that case you'll probably see other people be successful in that same department, and you won’t like it, and you’ll say “What If I had…”.

You can also trust your instincts. That seems to be the right choice… When you have good ones. And only experience can dictate that. But you're young, you don’t have many experiences. Besides, you should be thinking about what you want to do for the rest of your life, not love.

So, yes, it’s complicated (who said it wasn’t?), but for big, enormous, unavoidable dilemmas, there’s only one thing to do: do not to complicate! Breathe a little and find out what and who makes you happy, what and who you love. If you go from there, just follow the flow carefully, because there’s no way your instincts will be wrong then! And If They are, don’t be a drama queen about it and learn with your own mistakes.