Five Audrey Hepburn looks you can easily do today

   I love Audrey Hepburn. Who doesn't? Only people that don't deserve our attention. She was so feminine and graceful and fun. I wish she was my best friend.

   She was a different kind of woman for the time. But anyone who loves vintage fashion looks up to her. Today disappoints me that she is kind of a fashionable thing right now, and some girls go and watch Breakfast at Tiffany's and call themselves her biggest fans and stuff. Well, they will never really know how she was like.

   So, as us mere mortals have not the pleasure of having Givenchy to design for ourselves, I reunited 5 easy things to do today inspired in her looks. Genuine things, not those pseudo-fan things.

Copying Audrey: she is doing it so wrong.

   1. Shirt + belt + skirt

   Easy and feminine. Everyone who loves vintage must have a A-line, high-waisted skirt. And everyone must have a nice fitted white shirt (and other colors are great too). The thick belt is great to create a silhouette. I really think this looks fancy and lovely.

   2. Checked shirt + small loop earrings

   With a nice and simple hairdo, is perfect for days when you don't want to wear a skirt or dress (even though I love skirts and dresses, sometimes is not very practical). The good thing is also you can find this kind of shirt anywhere these days.

   3.Glittery eyes

   Audrey was quite ahead of her time in this. Well, if it is to put glitter, put a lot of it, and complete with nice eyeliner and mascara. Big full lashes were rule those days. But I think they kept it quite natural. I see some women today with ridiculously big fake lashes. Makes them look funny, not pretty.

   4. Cute ponytail

   Oh, hot sunny days. I'm suffering with them now. It is really hot here in Brazil between december and january. So hot you feel ill. The best thing these days is to put fresh clothes and put your hair up. So why not in this adorable ponytail? Just do a high one and add a ribbon to it. So simple.

   5. Where shoes you can walk on

   Girls do forget that lately. I see them stumbling around in 9 inch heels and it's so silly! The supposedly powerful and sexy effect is totally washed away. And it is so much fun to be with a woman which heels hurt so much she can barely stay up after half an hour and complain about it every 5 seconds, isn't it? So go and buy yourself comfortable and realistic heels. Nice guys prefer woman who can walk with them. For a long time. And dance too.

   No one can be like Audrey. She was so unique. But we can learn from her cheerful and ladylike personality, and try to be as stylish as she was. Just try, of course.

The Count of Monte Cristo and Possession

   Note: This is an old post I had prepared, and never published. Since it was ready, decided to do it now.

   More movies I've watched since I've last been here

The Count of Monte Cristo (2002 version)

   I liked this movie so much I intend to buy it! By what I've read, it is not the most faithful adaptation of the book - by the way, I always wanted soooo much to read Alexandre Dumas' books, but they are just way too expensive here and I can't find any in used book shops - but it's a very nice movie.

   It tells the story of Edmond Dantes. He is not very rich, but conquers many good things in his life which causes envy to his friend and noble Fernand Mondego. Mondego finds a way to incriminate Dantes for treason (and after the Revolution it was a very tense political time) and he goes arrested to Chatêau d'If, in a distant and desolate isle.

   There he meets an old man, Abbe Faria. He is very cult and teaches Dantes how to read, fight, about economy, politics, and mankind in general. He is trying to dig a tunnel to freedom, and Edmond helps him. But he is very old, and before dying he gives Edmond a map to the treasure he'd been put in prision for hiding. Edmond hides in the sack they would use to throw Abbe's body in the sea, and so manages to escape.

   He meets a bunch of pirates and wins their trust. Jacopo becomes his servant and best friend and togheter, with the treasure and faking nobility, they revenge those who did Dantes wrong.

   Really really good movie. I think Dumas was brilliant.

Possession

   This movie is not very known, but I loved it and I think you'll understand why.

   Maud and Roland are specialists in two victorian poets - she, in Christabel LaMotte; he, in Henry Ash - join forces to find out if the poets had a secret love affair or not, after they come about a few letters they wrote each other.

 
   They travel through many places their poems and diaries mention looking for clues of this unknown connection. But there are other scholars who hope to find evidences before they do and get the fame - and this might become dangerous.

   Oh, I wish I could go to many places to find out if writers did this or that based on what they left. What a dream job!

   I very liked the way they show the past and the present simultaneously.

   There's a book in which the movie was based, by A. S. Byatt. Seems it is more dense than teh movie. Sounds pretty interesting!

   Well, that's all I have for now. More later,

Movies with Friends!

So, the movie reviews, as I promised!

Pride & Prejudice

 This one of my very favorites too. I just love Jane Austen.
 It's funny that most of the people prefer a thousand times the BBC series than this movie... I see that the series is more faithfull. But it seems so raw to me. Like a copy of the words, not the spirit of the book. And I can't swallow Colin Firth as Darcy, I'm sorry.
 When I watch it it feels like the feelings she wanted to portray in the book come alive uniquely. And the actors play their parts with such grace and charm! The photography of the movie is quite exquisite too.  There's always something new to be noticed at every scene, specially at the ball parts. I also love the soundtrack. One day, I'll learn to play the theme on the piano. One day.

Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl

This movie always makes me want to walk out the door and chase adventure. Who cares about real life and responsabilities? "Do what you want 'cause a pirate is free! You are a pirate!"
Okay. This was a funny movie to watch because my friend is just nuts about Johnny Depp and wants to marry him and all those stuff. So I was expecting constant regards about how wonderful he is, but she always finds a new and completely hilarious way to do it.
Who doesn't love pirates? First time I saw this movie I went running to the library to buy a book about them. I ended up with a very acurate description of the main pirates at their golden age by no one less than Daniel Defoe - that guy who wrote Robinson Crusoe, you know who he is. Fact is he wanted to provide good information so the english authorities could catch the pirates. He was very meticulous in his research, so it is very interesting.
But well, the movie. I can't see how someone could dislike it. It's epic awesome! The story is very nice, the acting was marvelous, the costumes make you sigh and all you have to say in the end is "Yo-ho yo-ho a pirate's life for me!", no matter how cliché that is.

We watched The Mummy too, but I've already talked about it. By the way, my hair went really well with the cut. I loved it!

Kisses,

(all pictures found on weheartit)

Feeling like things are going too fast

I just feel so young - I'm only 15 - but in a year and a half I'll be going to college (I hope)! These thoughts always make me kind of scared.But I'm trying to take it easy and be happy that I found sometime to post here at least, so let's talk about more fun and immediate stuff.

First - historical fact! - I'm going to cut my hair! It is long, dark and curly, and it has been so since I was four. Never did anything much different on it when it comes to haircuts. But these past weeks, I realized I got tired of looking at my face always the same. So I was watching The Mummy, and I love Rachel Weisz's look in it, and I though: Well, she's got curly hair in it, this might work!
I know this is kind of unusual, but The Mummy is one of my very favorite movies ever! Everyone thinks is just not a big deal of a movie. After all, it'snot complex, reflexive, or epic. It is just a nice fun movie. But that's why I think I like it so much - it is not pretentious. The characters are charming, spontaneous, funny and quite believable in the context. The story is well done, very well explained, intriguing and imaginative. It hasn't got marvelous effects nor wants to be Indiana Jones. They just want you to enjoy yourself while watching.
I'm quite a silly for movies - I can watch and enjoy those deep cult classics, but the ones that touch my heart are those which the end is happy and the characters are so nice you wish they were your friends. I can't help myself laughing at the jokes everytime I watch them or sighing at the beutiful love stories. Yes, I confess.
For those who don't know the movie (which is quite rare), here's a summary:
At first we are introduced to the forbidden romance between priest Imhotep and pharao's favorite Anck'sunamun, in Ancient Egypt. When they are discovered, Anck'sunamun sacrifices herself so Imhotep could escape, because she knew he could resurrect her. He does not go far, though, as the guards manage to find him. As punishment, he must suffer the hom-dai, that is, be mumified alive with flesh-eater scarabs as company. He is buried in Hamunaptra, the city of the dead, and is guarded for millennia by the Magi.
In 1923, Rick O'Connell is an american serving the French Legion fighting the arabs in (guess where!) Hamunaptra. While trying to live, he is trapped at the feet of the statue of Anubis. The arab horses seem frightened for no reason and run away. Strange wind, sinister song in the background, and the face of Imhotep appears on the sand. Rick runs away.
1926. Evelyn Carnahan it's a clumsy librarian who dreams to be an egyptologist. After putting down the library of the Cairo Museum, she finds her brother, Jonathan, who gives her a box hoping it's a real artifact.
Inside ther's a map to Hamunaptra. They present it to the curator, but he "accidentaly" sets fire to the city part. Jonathan confesses he stole the box from a drunk man in the local bar.
The man is (guess who!) Rick, and Evey manages to take him out of prison and take him as a guide.
There are more people heading to Hamunaptra and soon the city is filled with people digging it's treasures. Soon Evey discovers the mummy of Imhotep and, reading from the book of the dead, awakes him. And he decides she makes a fine body for the soul of Anck'sunamun. Yes, he still plans to resurrect her.
You can imagine what happens later. Some people die, they try to send Imhotep back to his grave, there's romance, there's adventure, there's punishment for those that deserve... there's everything I like in a movie!

So, watching it I thought since I have curly hair, that might work. Might. Might. Oh gods, I'm quite scared. Really really hope that, if it doesn't work perfectly, at least it turns allright and not awful. But well, hair grows, I need a change, better fix it than not know, so... let's do it!

By the way, it does break my heart to remind myself I do not look like Rachel Weisz. But then again, who does? I'm a mere mortal after all.

So, another thing, I finished Persuasion! I adored it. The protagonist, Jane Elliot, is more reserved than Elizabeth Bennet, but as sensible as she. The story is very delicate, very true on the nature of true love, on patience, on trusting yourself. It feels more mature on the writing too. I really loved it.

More later,

Movies - The Good, the Bad and the Ugly

Since I don't like carnival I always take the holidays to read, sleep, catch up with the blogs I like and watch movies. I watched a lot of movies these days, and obviously didn't like all.

The good:

Amadeus

The movie tells the story of Mozart through the eyes of his rival, Antonio Salieri. Feeling the approach of his death, Salieri tells a priest  he lead Mozart to his death - as he believes he did. Mozart's success, allied to no dedication, led Salieri to a blind hate and his very destruction.
This movie won 8 very deserved Oscars. Everything is just perfect. Really.

The Apartment

C. C. Baxter is a bachelor who works for an insurance company. To climb the corporate ladder, he borrows his apartment to his bosses so they can comfortably cheat on their wives. He's just fine with that until one of them takes the girl he is in love with and tells her he is not divorcing his wife to be with her.
After he leaves she attempts suicide and Baxter has to take care of her. I won't ruin the end for you, but I can say it is a lovely romantic comedy. And it won the Oscar for best movie that year. It has the charm of the beginning of this genre so much explored today.

East of Eden

 Based on the last part of an extense book by John Steinbeck, East of Eden is one of the three movies James Dean got to do before he died. It is the story of a religious father, Adam, and his two sons, Aron and Cal. To him, Aron is all of good and pure, and Cal is a stubborn and revolted son. Unfortunately, the father's approval is all Cal wants. Even after he finds out he lied about their mother being dead. This movie has a good story, and some good acting too.

Stand by Me

Didn't expect much of this one - though it was going to be cheesy and shallow. It was based on a tale by Stephen King (not in a scary way). Four friends with complicated families decide to follow the train rails until the place it is believed that lies the body of a kid who was ranover by the train. During their trip they realize how important their friendship is and how hard it will be to keep it in the future. Despite hat, the movie is quite funny and really nice.

When Harry Met Sally

This is one of my mother's favorite movies. Usually, I don't like Meg Ryan, but she was quite likeable in this movie. Harry drives Sally to NY as a favour to a girlfriend. They start a few conversations, all end in complete disagreement.
A few years later, they meet again, then again, then again, so they start meeting and become good friends. But how long can a man and a woman remain 'just good friends'?

All About Eve

Anne Baxter plays Eve, a naive girl who wishes to be a theater actress. With the help of a scripwriter's wife, she gets to Margo (Bette Davis, wonderful as always) and becomes a helpful companion.
But, as a friend of Margo warns her, a person who dedicates everything to another and asks nothing in return is certainly suspect, and Eve seems to be studying, analyzing her. Said and done: Eve uses Margo and her friends to climb to stardom without their notice, and the only one who got what she was up to was an admired theater critic.

Now, to the bad:

My Life In Ruins

I really like Nia Vardalos, but ARRRGH! This movie really sucked. It is a bad romantic comedy about a turistic guide in Greece, Georgia, that in vain tries to persuade turists to pay more attention to the history of Greece.
About to quit the job, she must make one last trip, with the hairy bus driver with a supposedly hilarious name of Procopi 'Poupi' Kakas and Irv, an old man that thinks himself very funny (he's Richard Dreyfuss, I couldn't believe it). It happens that when Poupi cuts his hair, he is not so repulsive and Irv just acts that way because his wife died before he could take her to Greece (Up, anyone?). You know how it's gonna end. So cliché.

And the ugly:

Doctor Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb

This movie is considered one of the best and a classic and all, but I don't know if it was my headache, or the poor dubbing (TCM is all dubbed here. It's awful), or the fact that I'm not meant to, but I couldn't like this movie. I didn't even understand it well enough to. Maybe I need sometime to get it, like I needed to love The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy.

To Catch a Thief

What happened to Hitchcock, Cary Grant and Grace Kelly here? It was all very badly put togheter, dull and monotonous. Grant lives a retired jewel thief, but all of a sudden roberies like his start again.
To prove his innocence, he decides to catch the responsible himself. Meanwhile, he meets Frances, who kind of desperatly tries to seduce him. Girly observation: Despite all, figurine is stunning.

Yep, that was it. Not bad for four days, I think. More later,

Sherlock Holmes and Inkheart

I know people have been talking a lot about the new Sherlock Holmes, but I couldn't resist giving my opinion too. I must say I loved the movie, for a thousand reasons, and watched it three times already! I read a lot that this adaptation didn't have anything to do with the book, but they are very wrong.
The problem is people got used to think the 'original' Sherlock Holmes is as portrayed in those old Basil Rathbone movies. Actually, those movies twisted the original Sir Arthur Conan Doyle tales! And I was expecting another disappointment from this movie...

Guy Ritchie and Robert Downey Jr surprised me completely. I didn't think they were worthy of their roles. But they rocked it! Ritchie was very meticulous and Robert studied his part very well. He understood Holmes, the agitation of the mind, the limitless curiosity, the lack of responsability... Jude Law was great, as usual, and I don't say that just because he's charming.
An Kelly Reilly! She was great. She should be given more parts. Rachel McAdams too. By the way, she was so gorgeous. I wish I had her clothes in this movie, and in The Notebook too.
I wanted to point out something not everyone notices about the movie: the soundtrack. Hans Zimmer, I think he is brilliant - he made it for Pirates of the Caribbean too. It sounds chaotic, but resembles Irish folk in some way... really liked it.

About Inkheart... I always wanted to watch because of Brendan Fraser (I just simply adore with all my heart The Mummy). I heard a lot of people saying it's quite bad, but I decided to see it for myself.
I thought it was quite okay. The idea is really good, I guess that they just didn't explore that well. And the visual is very pretty, beautiful landscapes. Probably the book is better, I want to read it very much.

The movie is about Mo and his daughter Meggie. When Mo reads aloud, he brings fiction to life. The last time he did it, from a book called Inkheart, he set free some villains who took his wife Resa away. In his desperate search for the book to fix it all up, he, his daughter and an aunt are captured by the same villains. They want him to read out a creature that is the essence of evil in the bok, but they will do anything to escape, save Resa and put everyone on place.
Wish I read the book. I loved the idea.

Buenos Aires, Percy Jackson Day Kit and The Warrior Heir - Cinda Williams Chima

I have so many to say and there's been such little time! Sorry about the length of this post, really.

Wednesdat I returned from a trip to Buenos Aires, in Argentina. Me and my family stayed for only four days, but it was enough to get to know the city. Which is, by the way, really beautiful - the old buildings tried to copy Paris' style, so they are really majestic. The trip was good also for me to remember my spanish that hasn't been used for a while.

I even have a trip adventure to tell. When you go to Buenos Aires, you have to see a tango presentation. The best tango house would be open just the day we arrived, so we went even though we were tired. The place was really beautiful, with a certain The Godfather atmosphere, all made of wood and velvet. We ordered our dinner and waited. And waited. The lights began to fail, they went on and off. We were starving, but the food didn't come. After two hours of food-waiting, light-blinking boredom, our meals did come. And they looked soooo yummy. And as we grabbed our forks, the lights went out and everybody there stood up. We looked around to see if the show was about to begin or something, as I tried to cut my meat in the dark. Then someone screamed, FIRE! It was a pandemonium. Everyone ran. I grabbed my sister by the arm and went down the staircase, trying to be calm. My sister was very scared because we couldn't see our parents, who were helping my grandparents. When we reached the streets, we could see the fire. It was very high, taking over the whole side of the building. My parents found us soon, and fortunately everyone got out safely. Well, since no one got hurt, I must say it was the best of my day.

Otherwise, the trip went really well. I bought a really nice leather jacket, something I always wanted, and a red trench coat I really loved! In Argentina stuff like that is not very expensive. I also could buy some MAC makeup because of the Duty Free shop. (Here in Brazil, you just can't have MAC. It costs, considering 1 real - our currency = 1,7 dollars, the equivalent to 100 dollars a lipstick. Yeah, it's revolting).
In the airport, while waiting, I had plenty of time to read The Warrior Heir. I did like the book, though I have a few buts. Follows the plot:
Jack Swift (by the way, really like the sound of this name, so very well put togheter) is a teenager who lives in Trinity. When a newborn, he had to do a complex heart surgery, and that's why he has to take a medicine everyday. One day, late for school, he forgets it - and everything changes. He throws this guy he doesn't like to the other side of the football field during training - without laying a finger on him.
So his aunt Linda comes to town and takes Jack and his friens Will and Fitch in a search for an object burried in their great-great-great-grandmother's grave. It is a sword. They are followed, and Jack shows again uncommon powers, specially when using the sword, but their followers are very powerful too. From this point on, Linda finds herself with no option but being honest to him about his family's strange history.

It happens the world is divided between Weirs and Anaweirs - that is, magicians and non-magicians. The Weirs are divided in five classes: Enchanters, Sorcerers, Warriors, Soothsayers and Wizards (who control all the rest). When Jack was born, he should be a wizard, but he didn't have a heartstone. The surgery was made to give him one, but he was given a warrior's heartstone, to serve the interest of the surgeon, the wizard Dr. Longbranch. The warriors are very rare, because they die at early age, and very valuable, because of the Game. The Game is a tournament between the two wizard's houses: White Rose and Red Rose, to determinate which has greater power. As wizards don't want to be involved in the fight, they use the warriors, in this sanguinary, medieval system. Leander Hastings becomes Jack's master and gets him to the Game, all to fulfill an ancient vendetta.
The characters that pleased me the most were the secondary ones - Will and Fitch, aunt Linda, Hastings, Becka (Jack's mom) and Leesha. I found the very human and complete. On the other hand, I didn't like much the main ones. Jack is the best, but sometimes he shows no personality at all. The worse is his beloved one (that later in the book has a surprising role), Ellen Stephenson. I found her dull and boring. In the end she gets just a little tiny bit better. Doens't make up for before that, though.
So, I would read the sequence, but I'm not dying for it. All in all, it is a good adventure-fantasy book, but is not extraordinary.
Now I'm reading Jane Austen's Persuasion... already on chapter 4. Post about it when I'm done.

Finally I got my Percy Jackson Day kit. The Percy Jackson series of books are a very nice modern adaptation to the greek mythology stories that is being transformed into a movie (let's see how that goes). Basically focuses on the demi-god Percy (the od part coming from Poseidon) who goes to Half-Blood Camp to train to be a hero. He's set out on a quest with friends Grover (a satyr) and Annabeth (daughter of Athena) to get back Zeus' master lightening - and prevent a catastrophic war between the gods. Rick Riordan, the author, has a great writing style, agile and quite sarcastic.

The brazilian publisher made an event that was a whole day when fan-clubs competed through tasks for prizes and people could also win those kits answering correctly questions about the book on twitter. Me and my sister competed both ways and won a kit for each! It comes with a T-shirt, a page marker, five bottons, a pen (or maybe a sword?), a raincoat and two tickets! Whee!

Very happy for my things. Soon the movi comes out, and I hope not to be too disappointed.
Well, classes start tomorrow. So happy for it! - no.