Darla!

Category: Thoughts

  • Secrets

    NOTE:
    This post has been sitting on my draft folder for months now. I’m posting it today because I’ve been thinking of confessing. I have a big secret. I still don’t have the guts to confess, but someday I will say it. I will tell the world.


    I’ve been following Blogsecret and reading PostSecret for months now. I keep seeing secrets on my Tumblr dashboard every time I log in. Sometimes it’s kinda comforting to see people’s secrets and some that we can relate to. It’s nice to know that we’re not in this alone. There are 7.038.044.500 people in the world, and right now another soul is being born. Among those people, there are some who feel exactly what we’re feeling right now. I’m quite sure about that.

    Not long ago, one friend came out of the closet. And yesterday, another one did the same. Their statements somehow had initiated a thought in my mind: How many people around me are actually keeping a big secret?

    How many of them are not what they seem to be?
    How many of them are pretending just to make their surroundings happy?
    How many of them are acting like someone that the society expects?
    How many of them are gay?
    How many of them are atheist?
    How many of them are no longer a virgin?

    They exist. They’re around us, those people with their eyes screaming to be heard. I wonder how many people I know are keeping a big secret.

    And I can’t help but wonder, too, if I’m actually keeping a big secret myself.

    Image via.

  • Maleficent

    I’ve always been drawn by the idea of telling stories from the point of view of the bad guy. I remember reading a Harry Potter fanfic told from the point of view of Draco Malfoy and it was so stunning. Since then, I’ve been wondering about how stories would’ve turned out if the bad guy was the main character. When I first heard about Maleficent, I knew that it would be interesting. And the character would be played by Angelina Jolie!

    After waiting for months, I had to wait for five more days to see this movie since it’s just premiered today in my country. I must admit that I should’ve known that if a story is told through the bad guy’s point of view, we will easily fall in love with them. This is what happened to me when I watched this. Maleficent is just a poor girl who is mistreated by a man she loves who betrays her for power and throne. He takes away her wings and leaves her. She shuts herself and turns the beautiful kingdom of Moors into a dark forest surrounded by high thorny plants. A few years later (or months? I didn’t really pay attention.), the man–who is now king–and the queen have a daughter named Aurora. The king and queen throw a christening party at the castle, but Maleficent is not invited. Together with her new alley, Diaval the raven, she comes anyway. The famous scene in which Maleficent puts her curse on Aurora happens and then she flees, leaving the whole castle in horror. The story then goes as it was told in Sleeping Beauty: the king destroys all the spinning wheels in the kingdom and sends his daughter away for her protection. Maleficent and Diaval continue monitoring Aurora and keeping her alive so the curse can be fullfilled.

    However, problems arise as Maleficent finds herself grow more and more fond of Aurora. The girl thinks that Maleficent is her fairy godmother, knowing that she’s always been there since she was little. The relationship goes deeper and deeper that one day Maleficent tries to take back the curse but fails. Then Aurora’s 16th birthday comes and the curse is fullfilled, leaving Maleficent devastated.

    Compared to the films I’ve seen lately, Maleficent is very short. It’s only about 90 minutes (or 97 according to Wikipedia). It leaves several things unexplained, like what really happens at the castle in the end or the thing that’s bugging my mind: “Doesn’t Aurora feel sad about the death of the father she’s only known for a day (or two)?” But the question put aside, I think Maleficent is good. It resembles Frozen in which the phrase ‘true love’ isn’t interpreted as romance. Maybe Disney wants to change the perception that’s been planted by a lot of fairy tales that in order to get a ‘happy ever after’, a girl needs a boy who can save her from desperation? I don’t know. But they’ve surely done good things with these two movies.

    Also, let’s talk about these cheekbones. Irene Adler could cut herself slapping Maleficent’s face (and then get her own sleeping curse.)

    Images via 1/2/3/4

  • Eleanor & Park by Rainbow Rowell


    When I was in my teenage year, I only read several novels that I could actually count them with my fingers. I was more of a manga girl back then. I could swallow up to 10 manga in one afternoon. I didn’t start worshipping novels until my early college years, when one of my lecturers assigned us to read one novel and then review it in front of the class. That was the beginning of a new era.

    I guess, perhaps that is one of the reasons why I got so stuck up on young adult genre despite the fact that I am already in my early adulthood (the other one being John Green). I consumed John Green’s books one by one, and then The Hunger Games trilogy, and now that I have read both all of John Green’s and all of the The Hunger Games trilogy, I found myself craving for more young adult novels. That was when I stumbled across two nice looking novels (bad, bad Dara still judges a book by its cover): one was The Statistical Probability of Love at First Sight, the other one was Eleanor & Park.

    Eleanor & Park is a story about two teenagers who don’t look fit together: a half Korean boy who likes wearing all black and sitting by himself at the back seat of the school bus, and a girl with big, curly red hair who likes wearing men’s clothes. It’s Eleanor’s first day at her new school and she has to take the school bus. There is no seat available except for the one at the back, Park’s usual seat. They end up sitting together every day and they grow closer and closer each day. The main conflict of the story is Eleanor’s family situation. A few pages through, I already felt really sorry for her. Park is the only thing that can take her mind off her troubles at home. The ending is not too surprising, but it still leaves me crying in bed at 11pm. I must admit that I brought this book home was because of John Green’s review on its front cover, saying “Eleanor & Park reminded me not just what it’s like to be young and in love with a girl, but also what it’s like to be young and in love with a book.” It’s true. Eleanor & Park reminded me about those years when I freaked out about absolutely everything; afraid of doing something wrong, afraid of letting somebody down because of what I’d done. But since I’ve all grown up now, I realise that those years had defined me who I am today. All those mistakes, those memories; they taught me a lot of things. Eleanor & Park had made me go back to that memory lane.

    Now, speaking of being a grown up… I think I may try reading more adult genre. I heard that Rainbow Rowell also writes adult contemporary novels, namely Attachments. I have had my eyes on this book on a shelf in a local Books & Beyond, so I may grab one as soon as I get my paycheck. I know splurging is bad, but hey! At least I’m spending it on books. Isn’t it a good excuse?

  • X-Men: Days of Future Past


    To be honest, I wasn’t really into the X-Men series. In fact, I just watched First Class a few months ago when my boyfriend insisted that it was a good movie. Days of Future Past was the second movie of the series that I watched and the first one I saw in theatre. And now I can say that I am officially a fan.

    Since I haven’t watched any other parts of the series, I’m not quite sure about the timeline of Days of Future Past. (But hang on there, friends. I’ll be there sometime soon.) All I could see was that the movie opens in a dark time, like the world is almost at its end. The only mutants I already know are Wolverine, Magneto, and Professor X (no kidding); the rests are mysteries. Apparently, the mutants are being hunted by some things called the Sentinels. Prof X and Magneto send Wolverine back in time to try to stop Mystique from doing her first murder ever which had initiated the manufacturing of Sentinels, and thus changing the future/present. But the mission is not as easy as it seems. Well, you know… shit happens and problems arise and our heroes have to struggle. Typical superheroes movie, but it’s still Marvel, so it’s still awesome anyway.

    All in all, I like it. The story is engaging and, most importantly, understandable for someone with a limited knowledge of the series like me. Also, there are some fresh and smart jokes every now and then. My favourite part was a scene in which Quicksilver rearranged a whole room in slow motion.

    Oh and yes, Quicksilver made an appearance and he has a small yet important role in this movie. As you might have already known, Quicksilver and his twin sister, Scarlet Witch, will also appear in the next Avengers movie. Since I really love X-Men’s Quicksilver, I can’t wait to see the Avengers’ version of him.

    Now I know what I missed. I should start binge watching the other parts of this series. And as for this movie, I’d say… Go watch it, you guys!

    Image via.

  • Thoughts on Season Finales

    A couple of months ago, I shared with you several TV series that I’ve been watching this season. The season finales of them were aired this week. Due to several reasons, I just finished watching them half an hour ago. Here are my thoughts about them.

    Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.


    If you’re one of those people who didn’t like the first half of the season of this kick-ass series, I’d say I agree with you. I love this show, sure, but the first half of it could have been better. Fortunately, they wrapped up the season with a good ending. My favourite part was when Ward and May were reminiscing the past. And OMGyouguys!!! I really love Phil Coulson, but not as much as Nick Fury loves him, apparently.

    Elementary


    The season finale of Elementary was… kind of meh. It wasn’t as mind blowing as that of the first season. However, I must say that I like the part where Sherlock confessed his feeling for Joan (spoiler: no, not in a romantic way). I love their relationship/partnership.

    Trophy Wife


    I was brokenhearted when I first heard that they had decided to cancel this show. But looking back, the last few episodes weren’t actually as good as earlier ones. The season finale didn’t even make me laugh for once, though some scenes did put a smile on my face. I’m still quite sorry that it was cancelled. I’m gonna miss Diane so much.

    ***

    Something that makes me so excited about next season is that Marvel has officially announced that they will give Agent Carter a special series of her own! Imagine it. A series about spies, set in the 1940s, with a female lead character! It adds up the girl power in me even more as several weeks ago I also found out about Orphan Black and decided to try watching the first episode. Best. Decision. Ever. I binge watched the whole first season in one night and now I find myself looking forward to new episode every Sunday morning (the time it is aired in my time zone). Now if you’re following me on Twitter, you will see that I’m super obsessed with Allison Hendrix. Fancy joining me in #CloneClub talks on Twitter?

    Images via 1/2/3