Review and Recap: The Oscars

Hello all! I don't know how many of you watch the Oscars on Sunday, but for those of you that didn't, I have a review and recap.

The night started with an awesome opening by Anne Hathaway and James Franco, which you most likely saw above. I loved it! It started with Inception, one of my personal favorites. I also thought it was great how Morgan Freeman just kind of popped out of nowhere. Sorry about the quality, it's the best I could find with my lameish tech skillz.

First, I think I'll give you a list of the winners (most of them anyway, some of them aren't there):

Acheievement in Art Direction: Alice in Wonderland
Acheievement in Cinematography: Inception
Best Supporting Actress: Melissa Leo, The Fighter
Best Animated Feature Film: Toy Story 3
Best Animated Short: The Lost Thing
Best Adapted  Screenplay: The Social Network
Best Original Screenplay: The King's Speech
Best Perfomance by an Actor in a Supporting Role: Christian Bale, The Fighter
Best Picture: The King's Speech
Actor in a Leading Role: Colin Firth, The King't Speech
Actress in a Leading Role: Natalie Portman, Black Swan
Costume Design: Alice in Wonderland
Directing: Tom Hooper, The King's Speech
Film Editing: The Social Network
Makeup: The Wolfman
Music (Original Score): The Social Network
Music (Original Song): Toy Story 3
Sound Editing: Inception
Sound Mixing: Inception
Visual Effects: Inception

Phew, tired fingers. Anyway. I have to say, I was little disappointed by some of these acceptance speeches. Christian Bale forgot his wife's name and Melissa Leo dropped a major F-bomb that my television cut out at just the last minute. One of the speeched I really did like was David Seidler accepting Best Original Screenplay for The King's Speech.

I was glad too see The King's Speech didn't win, like, every category. Inception took home quite a few Oscars and so did Alice in Wonderland, so I'm pretty happy.

Anne Hathaway did a great number that was really funny, and I actually thought her suit/ heels combo looked cute! ~Peace, Love, and the sniffles :(

P.S. Don't forget to watch the LAST EPISODE of You're Cut Off tonight!

Freaky Sock Friday #5

Yeah, you're seeing it right. Aren't those socks FREAKY!? Actually, the whole site is slightly strange. It's called Socks by Sock Dreams. It has a lot of really cool socks. What it's kind of based around, is, now get this, sexy socks. How....interesting is that. But, they do have some perfectly normal socks like this. (Yes, these are perfectly normal to me.) I ADORE these socks. They're pink and blue. (That's always a good color combo.) They're ARGYLE! Plus, they're above the knee. So tell me ladies, what more could you possibly want? Nothing. So check out these socks here. ~Peace, Love, and Argyle Glory

Review: Mockingjay

First things first, I apologize for taking FOREVER to post this. I've had a lot to do (and  think about) lately. I won't go in depth, because I'm sure you guys are tired of hearing my excuses. So, I won't make you wait anymore....

Looking back at my notes, (Yes, this nerd does take notes. I don't want to forget to tell you guys anything!) I realize just how much thought about this book. Most of them are good, but not all. I'll start with the positive however.

Just like the last too, this book was amazing, just like I expected it to be. This may sound strange, but I kind of thought that it was written like Twilight. Call me crazy! The whole way the Suzanne Collins took on the first person point of view, just made me go, "I've read this somewhere before."

The plot was pretty great. Original, just like always. I thought Katniss's new bow was pretty cool. I really liked a lot of the characters that were introduced in this books. More than Catching Fire I think. I'm not going to spoil anything for people that haven't read it yet, but of course I liked how everything ended up in the end. I was so happy. I remember I read the last page, set it down, contemplated it for about two minutes, then picked up another book and dug in. I had a quote I wanted to share with you guys, but I didn't think to write it down before I returned it to who I borrowed it from. For those of you that have a copy of Mockingjay, I'll just say that it was a quote by Octavia on page 226. If you're feeling extra nice, maybe you can post the quote in the comments to pick up the slack from your irresponsible blogger.

Yeah, I don't know. I saw this, and couldn't find
anything else. So...

I have to say, (just so you know, I'm currently thinking my thoughts in a British accent...and I don't know why) I was a little disappointed by the cover art on this one. I mean, when you relate it to the actual plot, it kind of makes sense. It's just that there was black, then a nice red color, and then...bright blue?

I found myself thinking "I want more details," throughout the entire book. I was a little confused in some parts. Um, I was slightly frightened by the deranged and hi-jacked Peeta. Personally, I'm 'Team Peeta', if you will, so it upset me, but it made the book better. The concludes the portion of the review safe for people that haven't read the book. The next part contains...

***SPOILERS***

Please, don't read beyond this point if you haven't already read the book.

Like I JUST SAID I'm all for Peeta, so, I totally wanted more details at the end of the book. Could she write another book telling us about Katniss and Peeta's life together!? (Pretty please, with cherries on top?)

My biggest issue with this book was Cinna's death. I ADORED Cinna. I probably liked him more than any of the other characters. I don't remember them ever saying flat out

 that he was dead. I guess I just didn't want to believe it when they implied it or something. I kept waiting for him to just kind of, be there, you know? So, that was probably the worse part for me.
RIP Cinna.

So, I think that's all. For once, I actually (The British accent is back. I think I've been watching too much charlieissocoollike, if that's possible.) don't know what I'll be posting next, which is an odd feeling for me. I liked to have thing planned. Check back for more anyway! Don't forget, it's Friday, and you know what that means... ~Peace, Love, and Freaky Sock Friday

 

Russian Water for Elephants Poster

Hey guys! I just thought I would share this real quick. It's not anything amazing, just a Russian poster for Water for Elephants. I haven't seen any other posters designed like this. There was another Russian one, but it was similar to the one I posted before, so I thought I would just share this one. I think it looks pretty cool, and each time I see something like this, I get even more excited to see the movie. Hopefully I can work on the Mockingjay review tomorrow and that will be up ASAP. Don't forget to check back for more! ~Peace, Love, and Mocha :P

P.S. I have a poll (just look to the right!) and I would appreciate if you would vote. It's just asking what kinds of post you like to see here on Oh, That Alice. I'm trying to get a better idea of what readers want. If what you want to see more of isn't a voting option, just leave a comment on any of my post.

Review: Gnomeo and Juliet

For those of you that don't read my best friend Hollie's blog, (and you should, so click here) you don't know that on Saturday, we were being children again. For more on that, you can view her latest videos, which are posted on her blog. One of things we did, and had been planning on doing for a long time, was go see Gnomeo and Juliet!

Isn't this poster adorable! I want to find a miny version to hang on my wall!!!

This movie was so adorable. The people in the theater (mostly kids and parents) probably got tired of Hollie and I going "Awww!" Oh well, they'll live.

Gnomeo and Juliet was probably one of the best movies i'll see all year. I mean, I know it was a kids movie, but it just kind of put me in a good mood. The idea was a good one, and all the characters were unique.

I was suprised to find the Elton John was the exectuve producer to this film. Alot of his music was in it, and I think it really added to the movie. It had the perfect happy feel.

If you don't mind sitting through a kids movie and need a bit of a pick-me-up, I think this could be perfect. A little Starbucks couldn't hurt either. Next post will hopefully be in the next few days. It will more than likely be a Mockingjay review. Also, I was messing around with my camera the other day, and was just being silly, so I might post some of those pics, but I haven't decided yet. Happy Presidents Day! ~Peace, Love, and Java Chip Frappuccinos

Freaky Sock Friday #4

I have always loved music and my passion for it only grows as I get older. So, I thought these socks would be perfect for today!

I love these! I like how the bright colors look on the black backround. They really make all the shapes pop. They make me want to grab my guitar and dance around like Taylor Swift! Than again, a lot of things make me want to dance around like Taylor Swift. So...yeah, there's only so much you can say about a pair of socks. If you want to buy them, you can check out the site. They have a lot of really cute socks, and I definitely see myself looking for socks here more often. Next post will most likely be a Mockingjay review. If it's not, it will probably be something fun Hollie and I did this weekend. So make sure to check back soon for more. ~Peace, Love, and Caffeine Withdrawal

Review and Recap: The 53rd Grammy's

• Best Pop Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocals
• Hey Soul Sister Live- Train
• Best Female Vocal Country Performance
• The House That Built Me- Miranda Lambert
• Best Rock Album
• The Resistance- Muse
• Best Pop Vocal Album
• The Fame Monster- Lady Gaga
• Best Country Album
• Need You Now- Lady Antebellum
• Song of the Year
• Need You Now- Lady Antebellum
• Record of the Year
• Need You Now- Lady Antebellum
• Album of the Year
• The Suburbs- Arcade Fire
• Best New Artist
• Esperenza Spalding
• Best Female Pop Vocal Performance
• Bad Romance- Lady Gaga
• Best Male Pop Performance
• Just The Way You Are- Bruno Mars
• Best Pop Collaboration
• Imagine
• Best Dance Recording
• Only Girl (In The World)- Rihanna
• Best Electric/ Dance Album
• La Roux- La Roux
• Best Traditional Pop Vocal Album
• Crazy Love- Michael Buble
• Best Solo Rock Vocal Performance
• Helter Skelter- Paul McCartney
• Best Female R&B Vocal Performance
• Bittersweet- Fantasia
• Best Urban/ Alternative Performance
• F*** You- Cee Lo Green
• Best Rap Solo Performance
• Not Afraid- Eminem
• Best Rap Song
• Empire State of Mind- Jay-Z and Alicia Keys
• Best Rap Album
• Recovery- Eminem
• Best Male Counrty Vocal Performance
• Til' Summer Comes Around- Keith Urban
• Best Country Song
• Need You Know- Lady Antebellum
• Best Musical Show Album
• American Idiot (Featuring Green Day)
• Best Historical Album
• The Beatles (The Original Studio Recordings)

Ok, you guys better be appreciative, because my fingers are about to fall off, and that wasn't even all of them!!! Theres over 100 Grammy Awards so there's no way I was listing them all.

The show opened with a tribute to the talented Aretha Franklin. All in all, I thought this was a pretty good performance. I think Martina McBride sounds great no matter what she does, so of course she was excellent. Christina Aguilera also did a pretty good job. I thought she did a little too mych auh-oh-whoa-ah if you know what I mean. Gotta cut that note of sometime, lady. I noticed she stumbled at the end of the performance. She just hasn't been with it lately. Did anyone else notice that they were all in dark colored dresses except for Florence Welch? What was with that?

P.S. Isn't this pic amazing?

I think pretty much my favorite part of the whole thing (that I saw anyway, since I nodded off around 10) was the one, the only, Bruno Mars. During the performance, he played piano, drums, and sang. I loved the old fashioned setting and how they made it black and white. He did a fabulous job and I learned that he has uber amazing drumstick skillz.

I forced my self to stay put and suffer through Justin Bieber and my patience (and suffering) paid off because Jaden Smith came on. He did a great job, so much better than Bieber and he's so much younger. So kudos to Jaden Smith.

I didn't see all of Mumford & Sons performance, but what I did see was pretty good. The only thing I had a problem with was the keyboard player. I mean, he was really getting into it, but it looked like he was having conniptions or something. They sounded pretty good live, honestly, better than I expected.

I suppose it sounds mean, but honestly, I got tired of hearing the terms 'Need You Now' and 'Lady Antebellum' while watching. I was disappointed that neither My Chemical Romance or Taylor Swift was nominated. I really expected Taylor to take home a couple awards.

Cee Lo Green and Gwyneth Paltrow's performance was...interesting. He kind of pulled a sort of Elton John/ Bird Man type deal. And I thought she was going to fall out of her jumpsuit. Meanwhile, they both sounded pretty good, so I guess that made up for it.

Katy Perry's performance was the last thing I remember seeing and then I think they lost me on a commercial. Anyway, I thought she sounded really good. This didn't really suprise me, because I think she usually sounds good live. I was kind of disappointed she didn't do Firework, but she did do Teenage Dream. I thought the whole set with the swing was simple, yet pretty. The Russell/Katy footage in the backround was also cute.

Phew, my fingers need a break, and a break they shall get while I watch You're Cut Off (tonight at 9 on VH1). Thanks for sticking with me through that extremely long post. I hope I kept you entertained. ~Happy Valentines Day!

P.S. I apologize for any typos. My spell check is malfunctioning, and I'm nothig without my spell check.

Review: Catching Fire (Part Two)

Okay, for starters, you probably noticed that this is labeled 'Part Two'. Hopefully you have, but, if you haven't read 'Part One', click here.

Now that we got that covered, I can start the actual review. Since I can't summarize to save my life, here's what the inside flap says:


"Against all odds, Katniss has won the Hunger Games. She and fellow District 12 tribute Peeta Mellark are miraculously still alive. Katniss should be relieved, happy even. After all, she has returned to her family and her longtime friend, Gale. Yet nothing is the way Katniss wished it to be. Gale holds her at an icy distance. Peeta has turned his back on her completely. And there are whispers of a rebellion against the Capitol- a rebellion that Katniss and Peeta may have helped create.

Much to her shock, Katniss has fueled an unrest she's afraid she cannot stop. And what scares her even more is that she's not entirely convinced she should try. As time draws near for Katniss and Peeta to visit the districts on the Capitol's cruel Victory Tour, the stakes are higher than ever. If they can't prove, without a shadow of a doubt, that they are lost in their love for each other, the consequences will be horrifying."

....Ooo. You curious now, right? And wasn't that better than sitting through one of my boring summaries? I feel like whenever I summarize the reader either hasn't learned anything about the book or has learned to much and it is ruined. So, I try to avoid it at all cost.

I do have to say, I don't think this book was as good as the first one, BUT, that doesn't mean it wasn't amazing. Because it was. It had all the elements of a great novel. I just think the first one is the best (I'm almost done with Mockingjay) because it sets the stage for everything to happen in the next books.

Like so many others, I thought the arena idea in this one was PURE GENIUS. The whole clock thing just made it so much more interesting for the reader and more challenging for the player. Um, the beginning was hard for me, because I, um, well, ADORE PEETA. Soooo....It was a little tough and I survived. I thought, "Phew, all will be well in the Peeta and Katniss zone." Then Mockingjay happened and it was like....gah! More on that later. But, if you are a Peeta fan, you may want to be ready for evasiveness from him...for a while, anyway.

Maybe I'm just kind of dense, but the ending of Catching Fire confused me. Like, has anyone ever seen the CSI episode called Sqweegel? It reminded me of that episode in that, at the end, there was all this new information that your kind of left to figure out on your own. All of a sudden they're talking about how the arena was part of the rebellion, and Haymitch knew about it all along, blah, blah, blah. I just thought that too much was squeezed in at the end. Maybe it was done like that one purpose, but I didn't like it.

All in all, I would give this book four out of five stars. It was really good and I highly recommend. I see alot of reviews in the future here at Oh, That Alice. So, make sure to keep checking back. ~Peace, Love, and Sqweegel

P.S. I almost forgot! Just a reminder that the Grammy's are on tonight at eight on CBS (I think).

Review: Catching Fire (Part One)

About, eh, too weeks ago I finished reading Catching Fire and I said "Yay! I can write a review for this now!" Well, here I sit, two weeks later, finally writing it. You see, I thought that it would be cool to get the opinions of some of my friends that had read this book. It's a pretty popular series right now, and alot of my amigos had read it.

Caution: Contains minimal spoilers.

Scott, the first person I asked, said he like everything after the announcement of the Quarter Quell. He thinks that everything before that was rather boring. I agree that it did pick up and get better after the announcement, but I wouldn't say the stuff before it was necessarily boring, just not as exciting. He wanted to rate this book four and a quarter of five stars, but I told him he needed to round. So, he rounded up to four and a half of five stars, which is pretty good. I was really happy Scott shared his opinion with me so you guys could get an opinion from a guy's perspective.

Kathlyn, who follows me, (Stalker! Just kidding.) also told me her likes and dislikes. She liked that they went back to the arena and she really liked the arena itself, what with it's clock pattern, and something different happening in each 'zone', if you will. She also liked Finnick, which doesn't suprise me, becasue Finnick just seems like a kind of person Kathlyn would like. She didn't like Gale, however. I'm not sure it's that she didn't like him as much as she's strongly Team Peeta. (I believe that when they make a movie there will be a whole Team Peeta/ Team Gale controversy. So, I've already started using the terms in my brain.) The other thing she didn't like was the strictness of the Capitol. All in all, she thought it deserved four out of five stars, so that's good.

My other friend, who we shall call Gertrude, honestly couldn't think of anything they disliked about this book, and she reads ALOT. She, like Kathlyn, liked the idea of the clock arena. She called it 'genius'. She also like Beetee's character and how they escaped the arena. Both of these things are quite original. She did say it was somewhat slow, but maybe that was a good thing. Gertrude rated this book five out of five stars, a very prestiguous honor from someone who reads so many books.

You probably noticed this post is labeled as 'Part One'. I didn't want it to be too long, so I decided to break it into two parts. The next half with feature my opinion and a summary. I will be posting that soon, along with lots of other post. So make sure to check back for Part Two real soon! Peace, Love, and leftover Steeler cupcakes :P

Freaky Sock Friday #3

Okay, I know it's been like a week since I posted, but I have a lame excuse to back me up! No really, It's been one of those weeks where everything comes at once. Anyway, I'm here to bring you your socks for this week!

I thought I would be festive for Valentine's Day (which I may comment on later). They are, quite obviously, toe socks. Now, I've worn toe socks for years, and I still don't know if I like them. I mean, I think they make your toes colder, because there separated instead of all snugly warm next to each other. This could totally work to your advantage in the summer though. Like, if your brave enough to wear toe socks with flippy floppies. I think what might be so cute about theses socks in particular, is the that each toe is a different color.

So, if you would like to purchase these socks you can purchase them here, at sockwizard.com. (That is an awesome-tastic name!) Personally, I would be uber excited if someone gave me these socks for Valentine's Day. So maybe you should buy a pair for yourself AND your sweetheart.

I'm hoping to post a Hunger Games review tonight. I've been getting reviews from friends for a while, so I hope it will be one of my best book reviews yet. ~Peace, Love, and toe socks with flippy floppies

3 Random Things

Okay guys, there's three things I want to show you today. None of them have anything to do with the others. Be prepared

First off, I found this on the net today, and thought it be good to include in a post. It's the Water for Elephants poster. I think it looks great, and now I'm even more excited about this movie. The only thing I don't like is that I think it gives part of the story away. It still looks amazing thought, and I definitely think it will get people curious about the movie.

The second, is just because I know I won't be posting tomorrow. HERE WE GO STEELERS!!!

The third is definitely the most random. Hollie and I found it when we were surfing the web (do people still say that?) the other day. It's kind of....There's something...I really don't know what to say. So, just look, I guess.

Yeah, I really don't know where this came from. I just know I want one for a pet, and so do you, you can't deny it. ~Peace, Love and a squierlly, banjo playin', Bruno Mars

Freaky Sock Friday #2

Hey guys! Glad to see you came back for the second Freaky Sock Friday! This week, the oh so freaky socks come from Little Miss Matched. It was really hard to pick the socks this week, because this sight had a TON that were adorable! But, I forced myself to choose. Here they are!

Aren't...they...adorable!? Now, I'm pretty sure these were in the women's section. If they weren't....well, hopefully they'll stretch because I have to get a pair of these. That reminds me...I guess you can't really buy a pair. You see, when you get these socks, you get exactly what you see above. One orange sock, one pink sock, one blue-purple sock. That's it. These people WANT you to clash, which is kind of, oh, you know....AWESOME! Yeah, just another reason to love these socks.

They're called Marvelous Sneaker Knee High Socks and you can get them right here. I mean, I know I would. Peace, Love, and clashing socks

Review: Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants

This weekend, I needed a chick flick, so I turned to The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants. It must have made me feel all warm and fuzzy and girly inside, cause I ended up painting my nails pink. I usually go for something more fun, like orange or blue. I was going to do Steeler nails, but I couldn't find my gold polish. Anyway.

The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants is about a group of four girls that have known each other since, well, forever. They are best friends even thought they are all quite different. They all have faced obstacles in their lives. Carmen's mother and father are divorced and she hardly ever sees her father. Tibby has a baby sister. She's pretty sure she was a mistake to her parents. Lena is extremely shy and modest. Bridget's mother commited suicide. They've all helped each other get through troubling times, and they've always been there for each other. Then summer comes. Bridget is going to soccer camp in what I assume is Mexico. Carmen is visiting her father in one of the Carolina's (i think), and Lena is visiting with relatives in Greece. (I'm super jealous of Lena, if not for her beauty or ability to draw, then her amazing GGrecian vacation.) Poor Tibby is stuck in wherever the four girls live. making her 'suckumentary.' They all have adventures over the summer, and the pants experience it all.

This is a pretty good movie. It has some pretty awesome quotes in it, so that's a definite plus. One of my favorites is "The magic is not sanitary," when Carmen says they can never wash the pants because it will wash the magic out of them. Lena says this in one scene, "There's a part of me that wants to let him in but then I feel myself put this wall up and I don't understand why. Maybe that's what strikes me most about Kostas: that despite everything he's suffered he can still look at life in the most uncomplicated way. I've never known that kind of faith. It makes me so sad that people like Kostas and Bridget who have lost everything can still be open to love... while I, who have lost nothing, am not." There are some pretty intriguing characters, like Lena's grandfather. Lina is definitely my favorite character, but Tibby comes in at a close second. I don't really like Bridget's attitude in some scenes, but maybe that's just me. I will admit, that there is some pretty cheesy music in this too.

So all in all, I think this movie deserves 3 1/2 out of 5 stars. I would recommend it for someone looking for a movie that's not real intense. Hollie and I watched this after we watched Inception so we could take a break from thinking for a while. I'm hoping to post a Catching Fire review soon. Since alot of people I know have read this, I'm going to ask their opinion. Then you'll get the views of a couple different people instead of just me. Consequently, it may take a little longer to get up. Not too long, I hope. Thanks for reading and make sure to check back soon for more. ~Peace, Love, and Unsanitary Magic

Ashley Greene in Teen Vogue

Doesn't Ashley look stunning on the March issue of Teen Vogue? She truly is beautiful. I think she always looks good in what she's wearing, and that's hard to pull off. Just thought I'd share this real quick. I love Teen Vogue and can't wait to get this issue. She has been doing a lot with Mark cosmetics lately. She makes me want to buy the products, since anything they put on her looks amazing. I guess that's the point. Hopefully we'll see her gracing the covers of some other magazines soon. Super short post today because I've been having some issue's with the blog lately that I'm trying to get sorted out. Hopefully everything will work out soon. ~Peace, Love, and Facebook Stalkers (just noticed that heading on the cover)