Screen Rant- The Hunger Games: Catching Fire

[Catching Fire: Film Review]

Now I know it has been a while since I’ve posted but yesterday I went to watch The Hunger Games sequel: Catching Fire.  I am not a huge fan of books turned into films; I really just can’t stand them. Either the essence of the book is not correctly captured onto the big screen or the film production of the book has been completely chopped and changed to a point where you just don’t recognise the book you read.

So you can imagine my hesitation upon going to the cinema to watch Catching Fire. But it had been a while since I last went to the cinema, and coming from a family who are not book nerds like me, my excitement was pretty high when a cousin of mine came to me raving of the book series she had finally read after my constant persistence that she should.  She then insisted we just HAD to go to watch Catching Fire as the book was so good.

On the journey to our cinema I grumbled all the way the film will never be as good as the book. Having watched the first instalment of The Hunger Games last year I was not blown away. It was a decent film which stayed true to the book but I imagined the arena and the games itself to be more intense and bigger, and overall just better. I guess I can be quite picky.

Catching Fire however took me by surprise, I was misled to think the movie overall was 1 hour and 15 minutes. So for the first hour through the movie I was disappointed- the film was good but mainly based around the tours of the districts I feared  my favourite part of the book, where the victors were re submitted into the 75^th Hunger Games, would be either cut short placed into the third film . I was pretty ecstatic when the Games did show.

I adored the film I felt it had stayed true to the book, whilst remaining uncomplicated for those who haven’t read the books to follow. I think you can’t fully appreciate the film unless you do watch it in the cinema, as the atmosphere and the graphics are suited to the big screen. The arena comes alive and keeps you at the edge of your seat jumping and in fear at each of the trials. It was brilliant knowing what was coming next and hearing the horror and gasps from the audience.

 If I was to nitpick there were areas that could have been cut shorter or out completely as the movie did drag slightly, but I overlooked that because I really did enjoy the film. The relationship or should I say  ‘love triangle’ between Katniss, Peeta and Gale was a bit cringe at times. I didn’t feel the love between the characters, the passion was lacking. But it could be argued Katniss was too busy with the disturbance in the districts to fully focus on love and left Peeta and Gale to pine after her. It was also a relief that the movie didn’t focus heavily on the love triangle, but more on the revolution plot instead.

On the whole I would give this film 4 stars with one extra for Elizabeth Banks and her portrayal of Effie Trinket. The styling, the acting and her hair! She easily is my favourite character of the film by far.

Letterbox Love #2

Letterbox Love is a new meme hosted by Lynsey at Narratively Speaking for UK based book bloggers to showcase the book’s that they’ve received each week. 

So the reason why I haven't uploaded a post in a while is because I have a bunch of exams coming up and so have not had much of a chance. However, whilst procrastinating I keep adding books on to my TBR list. 

The books I have this week are a mix between YA and general Fiction, this is mainly due to the fact I haven't read a general love story in a while. Some of the books that I 'm going to showcase I have already read and so I will add a mini review with the description. 

Brought:

The first book I got and attempted to read at the start of the week was One Hundred Names by Cecilia Ahern. Now I love all books by Cecilia and was pretty excited to start reading this one, but a couple of chapters into the book and I just could not connect with the story. I'm not usually the type of person to leave a story once I start but I'm finding it really hard to pick up the book again. Which is a real shame because her books are usually so awesome, romance with a hint of fantasy. 

                                                   

Jodie Picoult is another favourite author of mines, she manages to find a way of getting a predictable plot and twisting it in such a way that you would never be able to predict the ending. Her writing style is unique and those who do not understand it as well may not appreciate it. But as a big fan of her books I look forward to every book she also releases. The latest book Between The Lines was co written by Jodi and her daughter. It had an extremely sweet intro at the start just explaining how the base of the story was introduced to her by her daughter. As this writing and book genre was so completely unlike any of Jodi's other books I went into the book without any expectations. It's suffice to say I did not enjoy the book at all, the Protagonist, Delilah was just a pain, It's rare for me to really hate a main character but both Delilah and Oliver got on my nerves, they were so superficial and there was just no depth to them whatsoever. I hate really being really critical, but the book could have been so much better, Jodi is a better author than this perhaps had she shortened and uncomplicated the book a little it would have been more suited to pre teens, but as a YA book Between The Lines is not up to par. Overall I'd give it a 1/5 and even that I feel is being too generous.      

                                                     

Now Louise Bagshawe is one of my most favourite UK authors, her stories are just joy to read! Destiny has been out for a while however, I have just not had the time to go out and buy it. For the past couple of months the main books I had been reading were YA and so I decided it was time to read a different genre for a change, so on my next trip to WHSmith I went and brought Destiny. 

                                                     

E-Book

Marie Lu is the author of Legend and now has recently released the second part to the series Prodigy. I'm quite excited and can't wait to start reading this book after my exams. Hopefully the book will be as action packed as Legend and contains a lot more Day and June! 

                                                      

The Elite by Keira Cass is due for release soon so till then I have decided to read The Prince to bring me back up to date with The Selection and to re-jig my memory of Aspen and America. Eeeek! so Excited!!! =D

                                                       

What Book are you currently reading and if you've read any of the books I discussed here I'd love to hear your opinions of them. 

Shystar x

Spring trends 2013

Make up Trends I'm Loving this Spring 2013! =D

Yes! Finally Spring is HERE!! And as you can tell from the title I shall be discussing the make up trends this spring which I am absolutely loving! 

LIPS&CHEEKS
As you can see from the lovely photo of Cara Delvigne bold coral/ red lips are in. Spring/ summer is a great time to bring out all your orange toned products, whether they be blushers or lipsticks. The Illamasqua powder blush duo is great for coral cheeks, Nars and Benefit also have a great collection of blushers for spring.
Highlighters are great for spring as the sun is   usually out, giving you that perfectly stunning shimmer. 

                                               
  

EYES
 Another hot trend is blue eyeliner, which I am so EXCITED about! I adore my coloured liners and blue is my favourite colour so there is no other better combo. Now experiment to see what shade of blue compliments your eyes. As I have brown eyes any shade looks good as it does make the brown POP, my personal favourite would be Electric blue. But the best bit about the blue liner? You don't have to stick to the waterline, You could line the top of your eye and look just as stunning!

Face
Natural is the way this spring. A tinted moisturizer,  BB cream or even light coverage foundation will be enough to just cover uneven skin or tiny imperfections. Unless skin is extremely oily there is no need for powder as the dewy effect will give the skin that extra shine. A light swipe of bronzer or blush provides that inner glow, leaving you comfortable in your skin enough to enjoy yourself. In the spring good skin care is essential especially if you want to go for the natural look. So my top tips are exfoliate, tone and moisturize! 

Follow me on Pinterest for more updates on the latest trends! 
http://pinterest.com/shystarx/

ShyStar x

Film Review- The Host

[The Host- Film Review]:

IMDB Film Summary- 

When an unseen enemy threatens mankind by taking over their bodies and erasing their memories, Melanie will risk everything to protect the people she cares most about, proving that love can conquer all in a dangerous new world.

What I tend to do once I've watched a film is go and check out the reviews, this way I can see if they had the same opinions as me.
For The Host I couldn't find a single good review for the film and as personally, I didn't think the film was that bad I decided to write this review. In fact I'd actually go as far as to say I enjoyed it even though the film had its flaws.

The one thing I enjoyed about the film was it remained so true to the book. It has been almost two years since I first read The Host and I really liked the book, so when I heard a film was to be released I was hesitant at how good it would be. Especially with the plot being dystopian and Sci-fi usually it’s difficult to make a film in this genre without turning it into a fantasy children’s film. 

The movie focused greatly on the plot and so drama and emotion was present. The actors were brilliant- Saoirse Ronan is an amazing actress and is fast becoming one of my favourites as she is so talented, and so down to earth off screen.
Overall, I wouldn’t say the film was amazing or even on the same level as The Hunger Games movie but it does hold it’s own and is a great watch for that rainy day. The film started with great potential, showing Hi-tech ‘Alien’ machinery and the iconic silver rings around the eye, however, it does grow old and nothing much new or exciting happens. It is quite slow paced and a bit cringey at times with all the unnecessary kissing, but nevertheless it was watchable.
For those who hadn’t read the book beforehand I can understand why the film was a bit of a drag. In the book action sequences were a bit more electrifying  compared to the movie and also in the film more questions were left unanswered for viewers, such as why the seekers were searching for humans and converting them. Furthermore, the self-conversations Melanie has with Wanda can get a bit tedious at times as simple instructions such as how to lock a door is reiterated. With a few tweaks and addition of better action  sequences the film would have had a much more better response.
But I guess considering the big effect The Twilight Saga had on the public, there was an overall higher expectation for others on The Host. Luckily I went in with an open mind and left satisfied the plot of the film had not been totally destroyed or modified.

Have you seen the film? I’d love to hear your opinion on The Host.
ShyStar x 

The Selection Trilogy

The Selection Trilogy by shasrulz featuring vintage hair accessories

Judge A Book Cover #2

The Selection Series by Kiera Cass
                               
                                                                    
So the other day I was prowling through youtube as one does, and I came across the following video:
The Elite Spoiler Video

Since it has been almost a year since I've read The Selection I was pretty hyped! The Selection had a great modern dystopian take on the usual disney princess fairytale. I thoroughly enjoyed the book and so I'm really looking forward to The Elite which promises a whole lot more of romance, action and drama. 

The first I saw of The Selection was on Netgalley I hadn't heard of the book before, but the cover I found was really intriguing. A cover like this holds its own and whats so great about it is that it's so relevant to the plot too. Most books have women in beautiful gowns on the cover just for the sake of it, but The Selection is all about fairytale and the gowns. 

I am so glad the gown in The Elite is orange- a rare colour you would find on the cover of a book and so it stands out. I love how beyond the gown and the girl there is  frosted glass as opposed to the mirrors in The Selection, whether this has any significance, only time will tell. 

The two covers are both equally beautiful, I'd love to have them on my bookshelf. I could stare at it all day imagining myself in such a dress, both dresses are alike yet so different. The Elite dress gives me the perception everything will change in this book, it seems the protagonist America will become more edgier and strong- hopefully that is the case. Here's the excerpt for book 2:

Thirty-five girls came to the palace to compete in the Selection. All but six have been sent home. And only one will get to marry Prince Maxon and be crowned princess of Illea.

America still isn’t sure where her heart lies. When she’s with Maxon, she’s swept up in their new and breathless romance, and can’t dream of being with anyone else. But whenever she sees Aspen standing guard around the palace, and is overcome with memories of the life they planned to share. With the group narrowed down to the Elite, the other girls are even more determined to win Maxon over—and time is running out for America to decide.

Just when America is sure she’s made her choice, a devastating loss makes her question everything again. And while she’s struggling to imagine her future, the violent rebels that are determined to overthrow the monarchy are growing stronger and their plans could destroy her chance at any kind of happy ending.

In the next few days I shall try to recreate a more modern day twist of the outfits portrayed in this series. Other than that, let me know what you thought of the book and covers of The Selection Series! 

Shystar x 

Quick Update & Tips on Choosing Foundation

Wow.. It's almost been a year since my last post.. Time has flown!
But I'm back and ready for round 2! 

   Starting with Foundation Tips!

 
Now finding the right foundation for you can be hard especially for a newbie- it took me about a year to find the perfect foundation for me. A lot comes into play when choosing the right make up for your skin type, reviews usually help but essentially its down to the individual as though one foundation may not be ideal for me it could be exactly what you're looking for. 
These are some tips that will come in handy when shopping for make up:
Talk to the Assistant:
There are usually stores like Selfridges and Boots where the Make up assistants will be happy to talk to you. Especially if you tell them what you're looking for, it is much easier to pick out the right kind of foundation for you. They will ask you your skin type, and what occasion you are buying for as this helps when picking out the type of product. Also this is a great tip for finding your correct shade as it's hard to know when all the shades are close in colour. 
Try Before You Buy:
It becomes really easy when you're in a store to get sucked into all the comments and suggestions given by the counter assistants and pressurized into buying a product.
The easiest thing to do is first trial different foundations, there's all different types of product, Matte, satin,Light/Heavy/Medium Coverage, Yellow/ Orange undertones, Tinted Moisturizers etc. The make up assistant will give you a makeover and talk to you at the same time to make you feel at ease, so if you are like me and are too polite to say you don't particularly like something, it does become much easier. It is hard to then refuse purchasing the product after but I personally then request a sample if the counter does provide it (you never know until you ask!) as the lighting in store is different to natural light. You can then get a better feel for the product when at home. 
Don't go for your first choice:
The biggest error I made when first buying a foundation was going into MAC, getting shade tested and buying the first foundation I trialed on. As I do have an olive shade skin with yellow undertones I still find it extremely difficult to find the right shade for my skin. It was only until I went around every counter in Selfridges I found the perfect foundation for me, as cheeky as I felt it helped greatly! Different companies provide something new with each foundation, it's until you explore you get a feel of what you like and what you don't. 
Skin Care:
Be aware of your skin, as it changes over the seasons, thus changing the type of foundation you use. Also the better condition your skin is underneath, the better the foundation looks. Moisturize your skin before applying foundation especially if you have dry skin, as it does leave your skin looking flakey if not. Furthermore, If your skin is quite oily you would perhaps prefer Matte foundation over the Dewy textured ones. 

My own foundation is the Georgio Armani Luminous Silk Foundation in the shade 7. It is medium coverage and feels absolutely amazing on. It is quite expensive at about £34.50 but it is one of the rare foundations which once worn, feels like pure luxury. The yellow undertone was just the right shade for me and the finish was ultimately flawless. I wanted a slightly sheer foundation, without looking too dewy for this spring and the Luminous Silk Foundation has just that. 
Overall, these are my main guidelines I follow whenever out shopping for a new beauty product. Hopefully these tips will help one of you in the future. Let me know if you have any tips and what your favorite foundation is! 

ShyStar x