Film Fridays: Marie Antoinette

This week, I watched Sofia Coppola's Marie Antionette. As seen by the title, the movie was based on the life of Marie Antionette, from her marriage to Louis XVI to the eve of her execution.

Marie Antionette is History's scapegoat and this movie does a good job of showing how helpless she really was. As a woman, she had no political power in the French court, yet she was blamed for all of France's troubles.

Likes:

-Costumes:

Have you seen the dresses? They were amazing! If there is anything historically correct about this movie, it is the dresses.

-Jason Schwartzman

He was a great King! He was perfectly awkward and endearing. He made you feel sorry for him being unable to, erm, perform. He got his key to work, eventually.

Versailles:

I love the palace and the setting for the movie. The setting was absolutely stunning.

The Camera Angles

The cinematography was exquisite. The swift shots kept you fully engaged at all times. There were really interesting angles that put the audience right alongside Marie Antoinette and all her debauchery.

The Food:

The food in the movie looked so appetizing. Half of me (okay, fine, ALL of me) wished I could just float through the screen, grab a couple pastries, then come home and stuff my face. But alas, not all dreams come true....

Dislikes

-No Accents

None of the main characters had any accents. French, Austrian, anything! It takes away from the magic of the movie.

-Casting

As much as I love Kirsten Dunst's voice, I feel that the casting of a mostly American cast in a French-specific movie was a slap in the face. The casting of French/European actors and actresses would have been refreshing and more authentic.

-Rock Music:

It was an anachronistic with the movie's history. I would've preferred some classical music or something, but the rock music was a jarring reminder of how this period piece was out of sorts of reality.

Bottom Line

This movie was entertaining, but don't expect it to give you a quick Sparknotes overview of what really went down. The cinematography was outstanding, but the best part of this movie was the display of all these events from her point of view. She is historically viewed as a selfish ice queen, but this portrayal shows her as what she was: a naive, sweet, but ill-prepared queen with no one on her side. Try ruling a kingdom with that kind of negative chi.

That's all for now. Have an awesome Friday!

Sincerely,

Sandra

Move-In Day!

Hey, all! Today, my sister Steph moved in (finally...) lol. It was rather swift and no tears were shed this time around. My parents, my sister, my little brother, Uzoh (a family friend who's like a brother to me, Steph, and Chudi) and yours truly helped move her in today.

Here's a shot of all of us as we walk to the garage to go home after dropping off Steph's stuff in her dorm.
Here we are again. :)
Here's Steph, BEFORE our 11 FLIGHTS OF STAIRS journey to Steph's new dorm room.

Here's my little brother, guarding Steph's stuff like a real G.

This is all Steph took with her to college. All she took was a suitcase, matress set, her lacrosse stick, Boris the Panda, and some shoes. Like she always says, "Minimalism is in." I should keep that in mind when I'm bringing my whole house with me to move in next month.

Watching Steph settle in was refreshing! Not that I won't miss her, but her leaving usually signals that my departures is not too far off. As much as I love hanging out here at home, I yearn for the city. For dorm life. For people my age. For good-looking collegiate men.

Oh, well. It's only 24 days from now, but who's counting? ;)

Sincerely,

Sandra

I Want It All

Hey, all.

I was just listening to Nickelodeon's Big Time Rush. It's a show that features 4 young men who create a pop band. Initially, they were wary about the pop-star lifestyle and were all convinced they all wanted different things. Little did they know that deep down, they all loved music and they truly enjoy following their dreams.

Cheesy antics aside, this show is a good way of showing kids what they are getting into when they say they want to be stars. It also instills good values that you don't see often in Hollywood: loyalty, hard work, and genuineness.

In between commercials, there was a couple "Behind the Scenes" look at the REAL band, Big Time Rush. It filled me with pride, watching these 4 fulfilling their dreams. They are gambling everything (their privacy, anonymity, time, future) for a shot at stardom-- and they're succeeding.

Listening to their theme song, there were generic words like "never quit, make it big, make it real, make it count, play it straight" etc. The one that got me was:

"Come on, shake it up/What you gotta lose...If you want it all, lay it on the line/It's the only life you've got/so you gotta live it big time."

These Nickelodeon pop tarts are right! I can't get what I want by wishing.

Time to stop wishing on a star (here's looking at you, Cinderella, Pinocchio, Sleeping Beauty, and Snow White) and start working on my dream (like Princess Tiana).

See y'all. I gotta get to work ;)

Until Next Time,

Sandra

Spring/Summer Cleaning!

I started cleaning my massive pile of organized school junk and I saw my special folder where I kept all my college booklets. I'd been obsessing over college since I was in elementary school (my elementary school teacher reminded me about a time when I cried about a B on a test, thinking "it would affect my application to Stanford")


It just makes me nostalgic for those days when the world was my oyster. Although I am in no way unhappy with my current school, I still kinda wonder what could've been if I'd changed my high school experience. What if I spent a little bit more time studying for my SAT/ACT instead of playing sports? Would those extra hours of watching the news helped me relate to my interviewers?


Most importantly, the main question I have is: Could I have gotten into an Ivy League like I always dreamed if I had worked just a LITTLE bit harder?


I guess we'll never know. I just have to make this Public Ivy help me forget about those silly East Coast schools. But UCLA's no consolation prize anyway ;)

The 2 Month Itch....

Hey, all. I have an announcement to make:

I miss school.

There, I said it. What can I say? I love the change a new school year brings. I love taking new classes, meeting new people, and (dare I say it?) Learning. I didn't even know I that I loved to learn until this summer.

Usually, summer's a chance to recharge my battery and rest my brain after a "strenuous" year of school. However, after one year at college, I am itching to go back.

I thought it was because I wanted to return back to the safety of my dorms to allow myself to get into whatever nerdy shenanigans I usually engage in, but I realize that is more than that. I want to return to school to become a better student. There is so much knowledge in the world, and I want to challenge myself to become a more intelligent person. Nothing is sexier than an intelligent woman. ;)

I go to UCLA, and it is extremely inspiring to be surrounded by so many smart people. It just makes me eager to finally join the ranks. My goal when I matriculated was to become "that one smart girl at UCLA". I haven't accomplished that title yet, but I want it so badly now.

I feel like I sort of wasted my freshman year. Yeah, it was my first year of college and all, but that's not an excuse for mediocrity. This is my year to shine. Nothing, not even my own laziness is gonna stop me (hopefully)

Until next time,

Sandra

I've Been Unfaithful

Hello, all.

I have to admit...I've cheated.

Before you start crying and wondering how I could've done something so selfish since what we had was special and all, let me explain further:

I went and got a tumblr.

When I first heard of tumblr, I thought it was a dumb idea; why have a mini-blog when you can get a real, legitimate blog for free? It's like having a Twilight book in a shelf full of REAL Vampire literature: LAME.

Yet, I found myself getting stir-crazy and restless with my nowhere blog. I thought of awesome blog topics, but I can't organize my thoughts correctly. Moreover, I can't decide where this blog is going.

So, I decided to step back from the exhausting task of blogging once a month and get a mini tumblr. I got one, posted a post...and immediately returned back to my blogspot.

It meant nothing, I swear! lol

All jokes aside, I'll try to keep a real blog going from now on words. What it'll entail, I don't know.

But you sure are welcome to sit along for the ride ;)

Sincerely,

Sandra

I'm Back...from Vegas/ Laziness

Hey, all. I'm sorry, I've been away so much. Just have been uber-lazy/busy at the same time. I went with Vegas with the family, but it wasn't so funny. I discovered that these are the four people who have the most fun in Vegas:

1) Those who drink
2) Those who have money to buy drinks/ eat in expensive restaurants
3) Those who are coming with their hip, young friends, but not their family
4) All of the above

Basically, since I didn't fulfill any of the requirements, I didn't have a super swell time. No matter; a family friend's family (that's right, right?) came over and their older son and my siblings and I had a lot of fun just talking, watching movies, and playing this random hotel key conspiracy game.

Anyways, just wanted to update y'all on what's going on. Stay tuned for more updates because I've got a lot on my mind and I need to unleash it to the masses (or just me, but it's okay ;)

Until Next Time,

S.