Prisoners Review

Prisoners (2013) is a movie directed by Denis Villeneuve, starring Hugh Jackman, Jake Gyllenhaal, Paul Dano, Terrence Howard, Maria Bello and Viola Davis. This film is a thriller that follows the investigation of the abduction of two little girls in a small town. Keller Dover is one of the little girls' father, and he will do anything to get her back. This is a great film that left me speechless. It's actually one of my favourite films and the best thriller that I've seen so far of this kind.

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On Thanksgiving, two families meet to celebrate together as usual. Everything is fine until the two little girls go outside to play and they don't come back. When the evidence that they are, indeed, gone kicks in, one of the girls' father, Keller Dover, feels angry and helpless towards the police investigation. Detective Loki, who's in charge of the case, will have to keep an eye on every clue, on every suspect, as the girls' lives is more threatened each minute, if they're still alive. When Keller Dover, however, desperately decides to carry out his own investigation on his daughter's abduction.

Personally, this film really striked me as one of the best thrillers I've seen. Sure there are many great thrillers out there, but I think that what makes this one so special is, particularly, Hugh Jackman and Jake Gyllenhaal's performance. You can see raw emotion in Jackman's desperation, and condused helplessness in Gyllenhaal's detective Loki. On the other hand, another great performance in this film is Paul Dano's. I think he plays a difficult character, that has to transmit a lot of things with a condensed expression. The setting of the film, a quiet village with a cold weather, where no one sees anything, seems just like the best place for this movie. The feeling of uneasement was heartreding.

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To sum up, I really reccommend this film, if you're into this kind of story. My opinion is that, regardless of your preferences, it will, for sure, not leave you without thoughts on it.

Here's the trailer!

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Money, money, money

Recently I saw a lottery advertisement on the TV. The slogan of the campaign was: "National Lottery. Because our dreams aren't cheap". I found it funny, because it's actually true. Many of us dream of expensive things that we think we'll never have or achieve. But what if we won the lottery today and had enough money to live out our days without a worry? And lottery is about that: we buy a ticket hoping to make those "what ifs" come true. So, with no further introduction, here's what I'd do if I was a millionaire (billionaire would be better, though).

This would be me.

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First of all, I'd help my family and friends to make their lives better. Being able to help the people you love is probably one of the most rewarding things in life. Also, I'd give money to charities, of course, because they need all the help they can get.

After helping others, I'd grant myself a wish and I'd travel all around the world. And when I say all of it, I mean all of it. I'd take my time to experience everything that the world has to offer, without worries and without hurries. Travelling is one of the things that I like the most, if only I could do it more often. The first place I'd go would probably be Prague, because I've always thought that it looks like a really beautiful city. Another place on my list is Thailand.

Beautiful Prague

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Afterwards, I'd do something that I've always had in mind when daydreaming about being a billionaire (yes, billionare, dream big or go home). This dream of mine would be to produce as many films and TV series as possible. But it wouldn't be any film, it would have to be good films and series. I'd have a cinema at home, as well because... why not? Isn't that everyone's goal? So that's it: film and Tv series producer.

To sum up, there are many things that I would do if I had a lot of money, but then again it's unlikely that I ever get the chance to win the lottery. It's all about keep trying, anyways, so let's just not lose our faith just yet, shall we?

And then one day...

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Home / alone

Summer is coming (no, not winter this time, sorry Game of Thrones) and I'm sure that most of us are more than willing to end with the torture that we call exams and selectivitat. Not to annoy anyone, but I'd like to talk about what comes next, after two months of procastrination and sunny beaches with transparent water. As Green Day said, we'll all be asking our parents: "wake me up when september ends". 

But not everything about starting again is bad, right? Independence? Now that is what I'm talking about. The real question here is: are we going to take a step forward and leave to live on our own  or are we going to stay home while we are at university or studying something else? Now that we're becoming adults with 18 years of experience, we can decide on this matter.

First of all, technically, living in an apartment with your friends at your first day let's just say, for example, at university is not "complete independence". The majority of us will still depend on our parents for economic support and, in some cases (not mine, though), one tupper of food or two every once in a while. However, learning to manage housekeeping and taking responsability on your schedules is a part to develop of your new-found freedom. But one thing that some people consider good about leaving home is that you learn more about yourself. That's because you find yourself in situations that you are not familiar with and, if you live with friends, then you learn how to get along better with the person you live with.

When you keep going back home even

when you're not supposed to

On the whole, I think that it's better to live on your own (I mean without your parents, not completely alone). Sure living at home with your parents has a lot of advantages, but fleeing the nest will allow you to experience more of life than if you don't. So when September comes I'll leave home, but knowing how homesick I always get, my parents won't have to worry so much about me disappearing from their lives, because I'm sure that I'll visit every weekend (we'll see, though).

First day alone in an apartment and

your parents decide to visit.

Sherlock Holmes Review

Sherlock Holmes (2009), starring Robert Downey Jr. and Jude Law, is a film that was directed by Guy Rithchie. It's an action movie that follows the most famous detective of all time, Sherlock Holmes, and his friend, John Watson, through the investigation of a series of crimes that are commited in the city of London. With hints of humour and an interesting plot, you will see as Arthur Conan Doyle's most famous hero makes a jump to the big screen with a great result.

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Sherlock Holmes has just closed his latest case, with the help of Dr. Watson, his friend and flatmate. Blackwood, the criminal, is now in prison and about to be executed. Even though the fatality of this man's crimes seems over, strange things begin to happen after he apparently comes back from the grave, to start a dangerous game that seems to be mixed with dark magic. Sherlock Holmes will have to use all his skills to get pass the occultism and resolve the case before it's too late. Also, with the sudden appearance of Irene Adler, the woman he loved, the shadow of a new danger will cast over the detective's brilliant mind.

Sherlock (left) and Watson (right)

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Personally, I really enjoyed this film, mainly because I love the way Sherlock Holmes' mind works when it comes to giving an answer to everything from the tiniest details that no one else would notice. His wit combined with Dr. Watson's aim to keep his friend sane and alive is what really lights up this movie. In addition, it keeps you wondering how Blackwood's actions develop, because it all seems like a timed bomb, "impossible to resolve" with all those sectarian symbols. On the other hand, I loved the soundtrack by Hans Zimmer. I think it's brilliant and it definetly finishes up the movie for me. Furthermore, Robert Downey Jr. and Jude Law are great in these roles and I don't think that anyone would've done it better in this movie.

How will he solve this riddle?

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I can't think of one thing I didn't like about this movie. It's not a masterpiece, that much I can say, but it really is a great movie that has lots of nice details.

As a conclusion, I can say that I really think that this is a movie anyone can enjoy. If you love action movies and playing a guessing game to resolve a crime with the greatest detective of all time, then watch this film. All I can say is that the second movie was good too so that is a good sign.

Here's the trailer!

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Bukowski

"Some lose all mind and become soul, insane.

Some lose all soul and become mind, intellectual.

Some lose both and become accepted."

- Charles Bukowski -

As much as you may like or dislike this quote, it is bound to be interesting, isn't it? The first time I came across these few words from Charles Bukowski (poet and writer) was when I was reading Beautiful Creatures, by Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl, and they striked me a little bit. I didn't pay much attention to it at first, but as I've grown older (now I'm speaking as if I was some 107-year-old woman) I think it has acquired a different meaning for me. The more I think about it, the more realistic these words become to me, or at least that's what I feel when I look around. Now I'll try to explain my view a little bit.

Some lose all mind and become soul, insane.

Let's start from here, shall we? This part makes me think of those who allow themselves to drift away, to dive into a sea of emotions without a worry about what the world may think. There's no rational space for this kind of person, there's only the thrill of their feelings. They will express themselves openly, and it won't matter if they're the happiest they've ever been or they're at their worst. But feeling in such a strong way, with such passion, can be both rewarding and damaging, and that's why, in the end, these souls have no control over their emotions, hanging by a thread. I think this is why Bukowski says that they're insane, because society sees them as someone who can't restrain themselves, who can't control what they do because they're driven by emotions.

Too dramatic?

Some lose all soul and become mind, intellectual.

On the other hand, there are those who shut their hearts out, who forget about emotions and throw themselves into a will of knowing. They are content when they can expand their minds. They tend to rationalize everything, because it's safe and true, because it's how things should be. There's no point in worrying about feelings or emotions, because they're only as important as you want them to be. This, too, can be both rewarding and damaging. It's obvious why Bukowski says that they're intellectual, because they're centered in what will the most efficient ways be, what will the most rational answers be. And for this, society sees them as someone insensitive, someone that is hard to communicate with.

Not bothered by a storm of feelings

Some lose both and become accepted.

Now this is the point where I wanted to get to. It doesn't matter what you are: a soul, an intellectual or something else. Society will always find a way to label you even in your most personal space. Too expressive? Bad thing. Too rational? Bad thing. But if you learn to restrain both your feelings and your thoughts in order to please those around you, then you're good to go. It's like we are kept on a tight leash. But the truth is that in the end it doesn't matter at all. It matters as much as we want it to.

To sum up, I think that society is always judging and we are too prone to care about it. If we lose both our soul and our mind, what else is left of us? We become something else that society is fine with but we should not. And what is that? A bad thing.

When you stop worrying so much

HUMAN RIGHTS

In this post about human rights, I'll seek the answer for four questions that we don't usually ask ourselves, but are quite important when it comes to understanding how society works (or should work). Let's get right into it.

1. What are human rights?

Probably, the most popular answer would be: the rights we have just for being human. It's not a bad answer but, more precisely, human rights are a series of freedoms and rights that must be guaranteed for every human in order to ensure the respect we all deserve (and also want out of empathy).

2. When and why were they created?

Throughout history, there has been many attempts to create a list of human rights, but the one that has lasted until now and is accepted around the world is the Universal Declaration of  Human Rights. It was created in 1945, after the Second World War, by the United Nations (in New York). The list was created to ensure that a chatastrophe like the recent war and other ways of injustice wouldn't ever repeat.

3. How many human rights are there?

There are a total of 30 human rights.

4. Which human right were you not familiar with?

To answer this question, I'll further explain one of the thirty human rights that you can find listed here. In particular, I will talk about Article 4. Here you can see what it is about:

Article 4.

No one shall be held in slavery or servitude; slavery and the slave trade shall be prohibited in all their forms.

Now, according to the question that I intend to answer, of course I knew that freedom of slavery was a human right, and that slavery is forbidden in every way. I also knew that, sadly, there still slaves today. What surprised me greatly was the fact that, nowadays, there are more slaves than ever. More than 27 million. Around 30 million slaves. My first thought when I heard about this in this video was: How can this be possible? How did we not realize? And worse than that: Do we know about this but do nothing against it? 

According to this article, here's a map that shows where most slaves in the world live:

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We can see that the countries that are more affected by slavery are in Africa and Asia (India is one example). On the other hand, the less affected would be the United States and European countries.

Slavery is illegal all around the world, but the right of freedom is still violated everywhere. Nowadays, slaves are forced to endure slavery by descent, bonded labor, forced migrant labor, sex slavery, early or forced marriage, child labor... And, sadly, many more. There are many ways in which these slaves are exploited, and this has to come to an end.

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But why is this possible? How can we allow this scourge of society to go on? Just in the United States, "the land of the free", there are 60,000 slaves today. It seems like we are turning our backs on them and we shouldn't do it. We all have rights, and if we don't fight against this oppresion we lack of respect for humanity itself. Even if we aren't living slavery in the flesh, we still can't act as if it's not a real problem. I think that the governtments should do more in order to crack down slavery, to stand up for human rights and equality.

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Here you have a video from Youth for Human Rights that I think is quite touching and that sends a clear message to society, which seems to be blindfolded.

Human Rights Article #4, No Slavery Video - Servitude & Slave Trade : Youth For Human Rights

Hail, Caesar! Review

Hail, Caesar! is the last production of the Coen brothers, starring Josh Brolin,George Clooney, Scarlett Johanson, Ralph Fiennes, Alden Ehrenreich, Tilda Swinton, Channing Tatum, Jonah Hill and more. It's a comedy that follows the kidnapping of Baird Whitlock, an actor in the 1950's, and how Eddie Mannix, a Hollywood fixer for Capitol Records, has to deal with the problem before the news reach to the media while keeping all the actors of all the productions in line. It's a fantastic comedy that clearly has the name of the Coen brothers stamped on it. If you like their humor, chances are this can be a good film to watch for you!

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Eddie Mannix works for Capitol Records in the 50's, in the heart of Hollywood. His work consists on having everything under control in all the productions. In particular, he keeps an eye on actors and directors, having to deal with their problems himself so the show can go on. Baird Whitlock, a well-known actor, is starring as the main character in the companies' latest production: Hail, Caesar! But, as a result of a hidden conspiracy, he is kidnapped and taken away. Eddie Mannix has to find a way to solve this problem before anyone else realises that the actor has gone, indeed, missing.

George Clooney as Baird Whitlock

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Personally, I really enjoyed the humor in this film. However, I understand that it's not the kind of humor that everyone likes. The story was simple but well developed, with some twists here and there. The characters were outstanding on their own, specially Eddie Mannix played by Josh Brolin and Hobie Doyle played by Alden Ehrenreich, in my opinion. The performances were all great and made the film funnier and with a good final result. I had seen George Clooney in another Coen's film, Burn after reading, and I was glad that they chose him again for this film (just the faces he makes are priceless). I also liked the way 50's Hollywood was shown in the movie. You could see all the sets and the little problems between the actors and the directors. This is why I found Eddie Mannix's character so interesting: he was the man in the shadows that everyone knew and trusted with their problems. On the other hand, my favourite performance was Alden Ehrenreich's Hobie Doyle, he was by far the funniest character and he did a great job portraying it.

Here's Alden Ehrenreich and Ralph Fiennes as Hobie Doyle and Laurence Laurentz.

In my opinion, one of the funniest scenes.

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One thing I didn't like about the film is that the story could've been more developed. It had more potential, in my opinion, that it was given. It was still a good story, it's just that I expected something more. Anyways, I enjoyed it and laughed a lot.

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As a conclusion, if you like comedies with silly characters and plot complications that no one had thought about, then this film is for you. All I can say is that the Coen brother's films never fail to surprise me, and this has been no different!

Here's the trailer!

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