APRIL FAVORITES ♥

Alright you guys, I’ve got some AWESOME favorites (and there are a lot of them, too xD) lined up for this past month, so without further ado, let us begin~!

Film

The Avengers 2: Age of Ultron

Oh man, where do I even begin.  There is so much that I would like to say, but I feel like most of that is spoilers, lol.  Hmm…I think I will just give some fairly general comments here, because I’m feeling lazy anyway. x’D

          Pros: 75% of the comedy is spot-on and absolutely hilarious.  The plays on Thor’s hammer, LOL. >D> Scarlet Witch and Quicksilver are awesome; character development, costume, and the interpretations of their superhuman abilities were cool.  One of my favorite scenes in the movie was the sequence when Scarlet Witch’s magic is manipulating the Avengers’ subconscious minds.  The fight scene between Iron Man (in the Hulkbuster suit, of course) and the Hulk, as well as the “final battle” are fantastic.  Ultron is a really unique antagonist and it was refreshing to experience his odd sense of humor and eerie perspective of existence.  EVERYTHING about Hawkeye is A++++.  Omg.  Finally, the Vision.  THE FREAKING PAUL-BETANNY-IS-GOING-TO-EPIC-YOU-INTO-OBLIVION VISION.

          Cons: The other 25% of that comedy were either cheap shots or raunchy comments that really weren’t necessary.  This movie is definitely more mature than the first installment in the series.  Loki didn’t even have a tiny cameo—that was really disappointing for me.  Although, I imagine that they’re saving his face for the next Thor film… And seriously, guys?  No after-credits bonus scene?  Way to break tradition!

          Anyway, yeah, a great movie.  Not perfect, but as most Marvel movies have been for my personal tastes lately, pretty damn close (sorry, Captain).

TV Series

Love Rain

I’m not going to spend too much time discussing this kdrama because I tend to fangirl a lot over this sort of thing, and I’m already worn out after semi-spazzing about The Avengers. x’) Basically, this drama is about a stylish guy (Jang Geunsuk, one of the only guys who can actually pull off hairstyles such as a messy ponytail and a “manbun”) and a sweet girl (Im YoonA, who has the cutest facial expressions ever) who together embark on one of the most perilous journeys that exist in this extraordinarily ordinary life: dating.  Their ups-and-downs are heartwarming, and unlike many kdramas, this series has great closure.  Also: the fountain kiss scene is one of the best in kdrama, in my very unhumble humble opinion.

Book

The Book of Lost Tales 1 by J.R.R. Tolkien

This is another case of a lucky thrift-store find; I picked up this treasure for 99 cents at my local St. Vincent’s.  I haven’t finished reading it yet, but I love the magic and lore so far.  I mean, come on, it’s Tolkien.  What’s not to love.

Music

EXO The 2^nd Album EXODUS

Because this group’s stellar first album, I have to admit that initially I was quite disappointed with their follow-up.  While I like all of the songs on XOXO, I was only drawn to half (5/10) of EXODUS’s tunes: ‘Call Me Baby,’ ‘EXODUS,’ ‘El Dorado,’ ‘What If..’, and ‘Beautiful’ after the first few listens.  The other five songs, however, grew on me with time!  Particularly ‘Hurt,’ which has interesting sound and lyrics.  My favorite aspect of this album is the line distribution.  It made me so happy to hear my Yixing’s lovely voice so frequently, and to hear the usually non-existent vocals of Chanyeol.  Please SM, let all my babies sing.  This album is a lot like Overdose, at least composition-wise, with the addition of three ballads.  Overall, it’s a great buy.  I’m looking forward to a repackage album.

Game

Super Mario 3D Land

Everything that I love about Wii U’s Super Mario 3D World, condensed into a cute, portable form on my 3DS.  These games never fail as a quick go-to gaming pick-me-up for those bleh moments in life.

Makeup

CoverGirl Professional loose mineral powder

This product has actually been part of my daily routine for a few years now, but I never really gave it much thought until I recently tried a different drugstore loose mineral powder—one that I didn’t care for at all!  Of course, I went right back to the CoverGirl one, which I can say in all honestly that I think is a great dupe for Bare Minerals powders, which I used during my first few years of wearing makeup.  I’ve never had any issues with it.

Product

Neutrogena 3-in-1 acne facial scrub

Long story short: I was on the market for a facial scrub and a treatment for mild acne, so when I came across this product at the drugstore, it seemed like a no-brainer.  It was very affordable so I decided to give it a try without much research, and I am quite pleased.  It doesn’t irritate my dry, sensitive skin (you do have to use a moisturizer afterwards, though, as you would with any other salicylic acid treatment), smells nice, and really does help with what it claims: to clear up “acne’s past, present, and future.”  Next time, I think I will go for something a bit more organic/natural, but I would recommend this product to anyone who’s looking for a different type of treatment for milder cases of acne.

The Last Goodbye?

Greetings again, dear friends.

 

Last night, I had the immense pleasure of attending a midnight showing of the third and final installment of the beloved Hobbit trilogy, The Hobbit: The Battle of Five Armies.

You know me.  I am the very epitome of a fangirl.  I spent several hours after the film spazzing about this and that and everything beyond and in-between.  Smaug’s siege and destruction.  The battle scenes.  The one-on-ones.  The wraiths.  Elrond.  Everything about Thranduil.  Bard.  Legolas (despite the fact that he is a sassypants show-off like his father).  Those rams large enough to ride on up the side of a mountain.  Kiliel (I SHIP IT).  Bilbo's little nose twitch thing.  And lots of other things that aren’t coming to my mind as I write this.  Pretty much the whole movie.  It’s been a while, oddly enough, since I so heavily abused caps lock, exclamation points, and nonsensical emoticons.

After my inner (and outer…) fangirl calmed down to a stable state, however, I realized what my true emotions were in regards to the film.

            Tauriel: ‘…Why does it hurt so much?’

            Thranduil: ‘Because it was real.’

I have ventured to many distant lands.  Each one has a special place in my heart and mind that is a permanent part of my being.  Middle Earth holds some of my particularly fondest memories.

The point is that The Battle of Five Armies, another end to another fantastic adventure, will continue to haunt me with sentimentality and nostalgia for many years to come.

When The Return of the King released, I was still quite young and a bit naïve in the ways of the world, but now that I’m an adult and am burdened with my cares and experiences, I’ve learned to value these childhood fantasies and to approach them in a very different way than I did before.  The wonderful thing is, that I can always relive them.

          “There and back again.”

As I mentioned in my previous post, I tend to judge films very subjectively.  That’s just how I am.  I wouldn’t necessarily call myself my Tolkien purist, but I am in agreement that this movie is in no way perfect in relation to the book.  There are so many things that I could pick at and whine about, but honestly, this movie was so epic that I feel like I can overlook those things quite easily, for the most part.  There are several things that I wish weren’t left out and certain things that I would change if I could, but that’s not what this post is about so I won’t go there.

The book is the book and the movie is the movie.

This movie made me feel so...inspired.  As an artist and a writer, this is a most beautiful feeling.  Battle of the Five Armies was entertaining from start to finish, with nonstop action and continuous development of both character and story.  I’m quite surprised, honestly, how much was covered in just two hours and a half.  I am impressed.

It goes without saying that this is something very near and dear to me.  What I have been able to articulate and put together to form this blog post barely scratches the surface of my thoughts on this topic.  There is so much more that could be said.

            “To these memories I will hold
            With your blessing I will go
            To turn at last to paths that lead home
            And though where the road then takes me
            I cannot tell
            We came all this way
            But now comes the day
            To bid you farewell.”

            —“The Last Goodbye,” Billy Boyd

Despite previously declaring that Battle of the Five Armies would be his last film within the Tolkien universe, director Peter Jackson recently stated that he would “probably” be up for another journey in Middle Earth.  Mr. Jackson, I’d definitely be up for that, too.

So is this really the last goodbye?

Personally, I’m going to hope that this isn’t the case. I think that the greatest stories are the ones that are never-ending; the ones that will forever be immortalized within the hearts of those who believe that there are much higher things in this existence, even if some of those things are just in our imaginations.

 “Still round the corner there may wait

A new road or a secret gate,

And though I oft have passed them by,

A day will come at last when I

Shall take the hidden paths that run

West of the Moon, East of the Sun.”

“The Road Goes Ever On,” J.R.R. Tolkien