I finally have a proper job now, and by proper I mean something that's long-term (unlike a Christmas Casual) and official (unlike the black market that is private tutoring).
Yehp, I'm now a casual receptionist at LJ Hooker! The last few weeks have been crazy because I've been training every day that I could, mainly just transferring calls, filing, doing mail, etc., which isn't that hard.
I'd work a full day only to come home and do more research for my new volunteering position as a research assistant, which I talked about in a previous post.
From now on I'll be working two to three days a week, which is good because I still need to get a fair bit of research done, and when uni comes I can still have a proper job while studying.
The research position is going good. I've been reading A LOT on self-handicapping, a super interesting topic. It's one of those things that some people do where they deliberately (but not necessarily consciously) hinder their own performances by doing or not doing certain things, such as procrastinating and not studying, or going out the night before an important exam. This serves to externalise the issue so that if you don't do well, you can blame it on something, like, "Oh I didn't do well because I didn't study" or "Oh I didn't do well because I didn't sleep enough". However, if you end up doing well, you can internalise the success and say something like, "I didn't even study and I did well! I must be pretty good!" So in this regard you can see how it links to things like self-esteem, which is kind of (but not really) what I'm doing as a research assistant. The woman whose PhD we're working on actually doesn't really focus on self-esteem, but that's the best way I can describe it.
So whilst it's been a very busy and tiring few weeks, at least I'm being productive and earning money/gaining experience.
But unfortunately, I haven't done much this past week, and I've had to have amazing self-control and reject opportunities to watch movies that my family borrowed/rented.
So for now, these are reviews of movies that I've watched at least a few weeks ago:
72% on Rotten Tomatoes
Maybe because it's a fairytale movie, maybe because it's a musical, maybe because I adore the entire cast, but I absolutely LOVED this film.
It's based on the very popular musical that tells the story of multiple classic fairytales, including Cinderella, Little Red Riding Hood, Jack and the Beanstalk, and Rapunzel.
I haven't seen the musical but I thought it was a great spin on all these classic stories, with an innovative way that they could all intertwine, as they are all connected by a baker and his wife, who want (more than anything) a child. However, a curse was put on the baker's father by the witch that lives next door to them.
Meryl Streep as the witch is amazing and legendary, as usual. Even as a witch you could tell how pretty she was.
In fact, everyone was amazing. Anna Kendrick has this beauty that just makes her so perfect as Cinderella, and the way she hit those high notes in the opening song sent shivers down my spine. James Corden as the baker was good too; I haven't seen him in anything yet but he did well in this role. Emily Blunt was just as amazing and funny as she usually was, and Chris Pine was hilariously and devilishly charming. The only thing was Johnny Depp, as I'm getting quite sick of him being a weird character. His singing voice was still good though, and he's only in the film for a brief appearance as the Wolf, so it wasn't too bad.
Everyone was a great singer, but the only problem was the the girl for Little Red had a very loud and piercing voice that just kind of made you cringe every time she opened her mouth.
I found it more enjoyable than Les Miserables. Even though Les Mis had good songs, it seemed a bit boring and quite long. The main theme of Into the Woods is amazing though; it's so catchy, so fairytale-like and just so wonderful.
The movie still felt quite long though, even though it was only two hours. I think it's because the main songs get repeated quite a lot, and the second half dragged out a bit longer than expected. However, there's still some great moments of comedy (thanks to Chris Pine and his manly chest).
I did read though that the second half or second act of the original play is usually not performed in many schools, and it may have something to do with the fact that the second half just isn't that enjoyable. I was quite surprised when the first half of the movie was done, and I checked my watch, and only one hour had passed! It seemed way longer than that, but that might also be the fact that every piece of dialogue (pretty much) was sung.
But in saying all this, the second half does reveal a great moment of truth for the audience. It's the part of the movie when reality hits. You realise that just because you wanted something before doesn't mean you would still want it when you actually got it. It's like that line that Cinderella says (that I can't seem to find properly quoted) when she states that she only loved the idea of the far-off Prince, and didn't love the idea so much once she finally got him.
Regardless of all that, I'm still definitely buying the movie when it comes out on DVD.
82% on Rotten Tomatoes
For some reason I hadn't heard of this film in 2013, but my mum rented it and, as you can see, the ratings were pretty good, so I figured why not.
The story revolves around two fathers whose daughters go missing mysteriously one night. As the police seem to be getting nowhere with the case, the fathers decide to take matters into their own hands, but boundaries are blurred and pushed to the limits when the fathers start getting desperate.
I didn't expect much out of it, and to be honest I haven't really seen Hugh Jackman in anything other than X-Men, Les Mis and The Prestige, so it's quite refreshing to seem him act as a non-superhero, a person not singing, and just living in the modern time period. He was actually pretty good in this, but his character is not anything you wouldn't expect.
Jake Gyllenhaal was also pretty good as the detective, but the true star of the show was Paul Dano.
This guy's performance was just absolutely amazing, and he really was the actor that stood out. While Hugh Jackman and Jake Gyllenhaal are good actors, they seemed so average in comparison to Paul Dano.
I can't say too much about the film without giving away spoilers, but the film was surprisingly intriguing and intense. The plotline is pretty solid, and the directing was done really well. The majority of the film keeps your heart in your mouth and your butt on the edge of your seat.
It also really makes you wonder what you yourself would do in that situation, and how, in many ways, these events can result in more than just one victim, or prisoner.
In the end, I think this film was pretty darn good.
93% on Rotten Tomatoes
Based on the true story of Captain Richard Phillips and the hijacking of his ship the MV Maersk Alabama by Somali pirates, this film definitely has more to offer than what you would expect.
I expected a story about Somali pirates hijacking a ship, Captain Phillips overpowering them and then Captain Phillips having a happy ending.
I really didn't expect much more than a standard hijacking story, especially because it was based on a true story.
To my delight and surprise, the story gives you so much more than that. Tom Hanks was great at portraying the clever, brave, and yet cautiously frightened Captain, and his performance really made me extremely emotional. I know that Barkhad Abdi got nominated for the Best Supporting Actor at the Academy Awards and even won it for some other awards, but to be honest I didn't see what was so good about him (it's probably just a political move as per usual).
The movie as a whole was pretty good though, all the actors played their parts well and the storyline is definitely better than you expect (and I can't say much more than that without giving the plot away).
Overall, I think this is one of those films that are good to see, but probably won't interest you for a second viewing in the near future.
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