Movie Review: 9

I loved 9. Just as I suspected, it was epic AND adorable. So, here are my 9 reasons for loving 9:

1. I really liked the story line (except for the end which got to be a little too sentimental for my tastes). It was interesting, and although it was another post-apocalyptic-world-story, it was kind of different and cool.

2. It was a little bit creepy at times. There was a little kid with his dad in our theatre and I felt kinda bad for the kid because a few parts really creeped me out. There was a dead body or two (which wasn't really scary but if I was a little kid I would probably be freaked out) , and some scary monster-robot thingies.

3. I liked the animation. I had read before seeing the movie that the director wanted it to be an animated movie that wasn't just for kids, and he certainly succeeded with that. At times, the animation was really beautiful (especially the scenery/ lanscapes, etc.).

4. The characters were compelling and lovable. They succeeded in personifying several distinct aspects of humanity/human nature. I especially loved 1, 3 & 4 (who, as shown above, were sort of a pair), and 6.

5. There were some (read: a very few) funny parts. The magnet was very funny (I think it was about the only time that the whole theatre was laughing). In case you haven't seen it yet, magnets pretty much seem to be "drugs" for the little robot characters. There were a few other funny parts, but for the most part, the movie was pretty serious.

6. The voice acting was, for the most part, excellent. Christopher Plummer, Martin Landau, and Crispin Glover were great, and Elijah Wood, Jennifer Connelly, and John C. Reilly were very good too.

7. Believe it or not, I really liked the action sequences! They were a lot of fun and I especially liked how whenever they were really starting to get beaten up by one of the monster-things, another little sock-puppet-robot would pop out and come to the rescue!

8. It left me with things to think about. Whenever I read a text or watch a film, one of the biggest things that I like to examine is the relationships between characters, and this film gave me lots of opportunities to do that. I think that the relationship between 7 and 2 (remember the awkward hug?), 7 and 1 (remember the flashback?) or even the friendship between 2 and 5 or 8's loyalty to 1 could be examined and analyzed (sorry, I guess it's the English teacher in me).

9. It was awesome! 'Nuff said. (Actually, I can't really think of a ninth reason). It was cute and thought-provoking and action-packed and really just an excellent movie. It really wasn't just one of those animated movies made just for kids. I loved it. So go watch it. Now.

What's Coming Soon

Since school started last week, my life has been full of exciting things such as crazy physics graphs, metaphysical English class discussions, mathematical confusion, and lots of running around. I also need to prepare for teaching a CCD class at my church and start trying to get a job again.

So, until I get into the swing of things again, my life is going to be a little bit crazy and I will have a little bit less time for posts (my life has been so consumed by school that I can't even think of a topic for a post). I can, however, tell you all about the exciting new things to come:

• Halloween makeup tutorials! Because I love doing crazy makeup and want to try out some crazy new things.
• Move Reviews! I am hopefully going to see "9" this weekend.
• I'm also planning on featuring some of my favorite blogs! (I just have to get around to it.)
• ...And much much more!

So really, I need your help with this. I need some new ideas/topics for posts. I promise that if I have time this weekend I'll try to bang out at least one halloween makeup tutorial (hopefully 2 or 3 though). So let me know what else you'd like to see!

Finally, the Weekend.

I don't think I've ever looked forward to a weekend as much as I did this week. And we only had a three-day week! But it was pretty brutal. Mostly becuase I was so conflicted about my school schedule and what to do about my insane courseload. In the end, I dropped one of my electives (dropped Creative Writing, kept Humanities) in favor of a free period. I really think this is going to help with all the extra IB/AP work I'm going to have this year. Still not sure what to do about history, whether I should stay in IB/AP US History or switch down a level. But I'm gonna give it a few days.

In other news, I really want to see 9. It looks so adorable and epic at the same time. I'm also beginning to plan a holiday party. Not really sure on the details yet. Ideas welcome!

I've also decided that I really do want to be more crafty. I wish I had some DIY things to do. As if I even have time for any of this, haha.

So my posts may be slightly less frequent because it's the beginning of the school year, and I've kind of been running all over the place. But please let me know what you'd like to see more of on this blog. And, of course, have a happy weekend!

My Trip to DC

Here's a long-overdue post about my trip to Washington DC.

DC was lovely. Extremely hot, but lovely. Washington DC is full of such beautiful sights. I'd visited before, but I think I was too young to appreciate it last time.

The Lincoln Memorial was so intense at night with everything lit up. It was soooo hot that night that I think I was a little delirious, but it was still very pretty.

Me at the Folger Shakespeare Library. (my kind of place!) It was really cool there. I bought this amazing awesome notebook. And, you know, the Folger Shakespeare Library publishes the Shakespeare plays my high school uses!

My main man Thomas Jefferson! His memorial was pretty awesome too. Very very pretty area around there.

There was a lot more to my trip but I really don't want to ramble on forever. I had a lot of fun and got to see all kinds of beautiful things and places!

What I Wore: 9/9/09

Here is my lovely first day of school outfit!

Occasion: First day of school

Shirt: Macy's

Cami: Areopostale

Capris: Kohl's

Flats: Payless
Jewelry: I have no idea

End-of-Summer Craziness!

These past few days have been so crazy for me - I apologize for my absense! On Friday and Saturday I went down to Point Pleasant, which was nice, but I had to write essays on the beach. :( For the past few days I've been working my butt off (and dealing with the consequences of procrastination) to finish all my summer work, and today I finally finished! (On the day before the first day of school, haha.)

So I'm excited for this year because I get three doses of English a day! I'm taking Creative Writing and Humanities as well as English. It's gonna be soooo fun!

Tomorrow should be interesting. I will be sure to post a picture of my first day outfit. :) It's cute but it's not super flamboyant (like teal skinny jeans and boots, which I was planning to wear, haha).

Unfortunately there's not much for me to say. I'm going to try to feature some blogs soon, as well as some more bands or other stuff. Let me know what you'd like to see!

Bargain Beauty: Eye Lips Face (ELF)

I love to save money on makeup (because I buy so much of it), so I'm always looking for good quality makeup at great prices. Well, now I must look no further than Eye Lips Face.

Eyes Lips Face makes quality makeup that mostly costs just one dollar. Aside from the regular $1 line, their excellent mineral line is mostly $3 to $5, with a few large $8 items, I think. And the studio line (which I have yet to try but can't wait to do so) is also $3 to $5. They also have a few insanely amazing $1 makeup brushes (I have yet to try them all but I love the Total Face Brush and the Eyeliner Brush).

How can ELF makeup be so cheap, you may ask? Well, they don't really advertise, and their packaging is cheap as heck. This is the only area in which I've run into problems - sometimes their packaging breaks or isn't quite right, but that's very rare and doesn't prevent me from using the makeup (for example, the clear caps on the eyeliner pencils are often too lose to stay on properly).

Here are my three current favorite products:

• Brightening Eye Color: They are quads of well-pigmented shadows. I currently own Drama, which consists of a black, two greys, and a white (great for a smokey eye), Luxe, which is a dark brown, coppery lighter brown, gold, and pinkish maroon, and Blue Moon, which is a dark and a light blue grey, a medium brown shimmer, and a creamy off-white shimmer. I absolutely LOVE these shadows and recommend them to everyone. There are so many more that I still have to buy (and at $1, I don't feel guilty about collecting them all!).
• Brightening Eye Liner: I love this liner. If you are used to very expensive liner, you may not like this, but for one dollar, how can you go wrong? I have Black, Navy, Coffee, Ash, and Gilded. All for just one dollar each! As for the quality of the liner, I really do like it. It's a pencil liner. It glides on smoothly and doesn't scratch you as long as you keep it sharpened. It's a very nice liner. Not as much staying power as liquid liner, but that can be expected with most pencil liners.
• Mineral Eyeshadow: From the mineral line (these shadows are just three dollars!). They are highly pigmented, loose shadows. I have Seductive (a very dark, very saturated black), Wild (dark brown with shimmer), and Partier (matte greyish navy). They leave a little bit of fallout, like any loose shadow, but I don't mind. Just do your eyes before the rest of your makeup (duh :P). Really excellent shadows, and a little bit goes a long way. Can't wait to buy some of the newer colors.

I can't wait to buy more of ELF's amazing makeup! I own quite a few more of there products, but I don't want to start rambling. I plan on doing some tutorials with some of their makeup very soon, which will include pictures of the products (sorry for the lack of pictures in this post!).

So, my dears, have you stumbled upon any great beauty bargains? Or have you found Eyes Lips Face and love it as much as I do?