Picture Wall/Mantelpiece Makeover

So, this is basically what I did all day. I had the idea last night after getting the antique camera that I got yesterday, but I didn't have time to start it last night. I was almost done when I realized that two of my frames didn't have hooks on the back. Infuriating? I think so. Anyways, I have some before and after photos for you. I'm very impressed with myself!

Before

Before 

After!

AFTER

*Pat's self on back*

Downtown discovery, April 19th, 2012

As it was another beautiful day out yesterday my friend Sarah and I decided it would be a great chance to go for an adventure downtown. We didn't really have a plan, but once we got down there we remembered an antique store we wanted to check out last time we were there, but did't have time to check out. We walk into this place (Livyer's Antiques) and there are about a million things in there. Its crazy, but amazing. So much history. Its really hot out, so its twice as hot in there, and I'm about to go ask Sarah if she's ready to go when I see she's standing in front of the most beautiful sight I've ever seen. A collection of antique camera's. I've always enjoyed photography, and after learning all about it this year in my classes, I couldn't pass it by. So here she is, a No. 2-C Autographic Nokia Jr, apparently they were released between 1923 and 1928. I want to look into getting it restored. I don't really care about getting it working, but its in pretty rough shape at the moment. It is my new baby. Enjoy.

Visit to The Rooms, April 17th 2012

On Tuesday, April 17th, I decided I would visit the local Museum, The Rooms, for the day. It was probably the nicest day of the year so far, but I didn't want to go walking around downtown alone so I thought I'd enjoy the beautiful view from The Rooms(pictures below). After I went to all of the art galleries and museum exhibits I decided to go to the Archives which are located inside the building. The archives hold all of the documents(ie birth, marriage, and death certificates) for the whole province of Newfoundland. You pay a $10 entrance fee, and then you're a member for life! Pretty sweet deal in my opinion. I didn't have a chance to find much on the first visit because by the time I got set up, I was starving as it was supper time.

Here are a couple of pictures of St. John's from the  viewing gallery on the second floor of The Rooms. Beautiful.

Easter Weekend

How was everyone's long weekend? Mine was wonderful! Actually, not so wonderful.
After a very stressful week full of assignments, I was super excited for the long weekend. Thursday was bad enough as the 5th is a rough day for me (I'll explain later), but when I came home around 9, my room mate and I were sitting on my bed chatting, and we were talking about mice that had been in our kitchen, and all of a sudden she jumps up on my bed screaming like crazy. She saw a mouse. IN MY ROOM. Argh, so I had to deal with that all weekend, and even now. But, luckily there were also great things about my weekend! My two dear friends came in for the weekend so I had an amazing time showing them around the city! Here are some pics from the weekend!

Online shipping

So, I might have a slight online shopping addiction. So, here are my latest purchases. My favorite website is www.boohoo.com. Great prices and great quality clothing!

DIY: Spray Painted Mason Jars

Spray paint used : Green Apple

After

Finished product

Holding my desk things

Items:

• Mason Jars
• Spray Paint

How To:

- This was also a super easy project. Wash your mason jars, once they're dry bring them outside (again very important to be in a well ventilated area when spray painting)

- Follow the instructions on the spray can. Do thin coats, if you get too close to the jar, or spray too much paint it will start to drip(you can see this in the second photo pretty clearly.)

-Let them dry, and then do whatever you want with them! I've seen people use them as I have as storage, others have used them as flower pots, or a place to grow herbs. They have thousands of uses!

DIY: Large Painted Flowerpot

Terracotta Pot before painting

While spray painting 

Spray paint used

Final Product + Flower

Items needed: 

• Spray Paint
• Terracotta Pot
• Soil
• Plant/Flower

How to:

-This is actually an incredibly easy project. Go to your local dollar store and find the flower pot, bottom, and soil. Then you should be able to find the paint at Walmart, and you can get all kinds of flowers from your local grocery store(I got mine from Sobeys). 

-Once you have all of your items, go outside (don't do this inside unless the area is well ventilated), then  follow the instructions on the spray can, make sure you do thin coats, if you get too close or spray too much, the paint will start dripping and that's no good. 

-Once the pot is dry get the soil and put some in the bottom. Get your flower and take it out of the pot-like thing its in. With the smaller flower I broke off as much of the soil it was already in as I could so it would have lots of new soil, but since this was such a large pot I just stuck it in the middle. Then fill in the soil around the plant until its even will the top and its as high as you want it to be. 

That should be it!

Good luck! This one is fun!

Entering Free Contests

So I've been trying to come up with a good blog post that isn't movie related as I haven't been doing anything worth blogging about I decided I'd do one on Win Free Stuff. I've been using this site for over a year now, and even though I've yet to win anything.. its a great way to find Canadian contests. They have contests for anything, and they have them organized perfectly so you can find anything you need. The biggest selection is for Trips, which is fine by me because thats what I want most. I don't just mean trips to Toronto or other parts of Canada(they do have those) but contests to travel all over the world! All of the contests are legitimate company contests. I entered one today hat was for Toyota, but there are other contests for all kids of other big companies so its none of those stupid ones where you get a phone call and they ask for your credit card number. These are totally free! There are some contests that have restriction on your location, but 90% you can enter from anywhere in Canada. Seriously, check out this site. It only takes a few minutes of your time, but you could win big! -www.win-free-stuff.com

Kiwi Film Review: 12 Angry Men

IMDB: 8.9/10
IMDB Top 250:  #6
Rotten Tomatoes: 100%


Release Date: April 1957

Stars: Henry Fonda, Lee J. Cobb, Martin Balsam
Written By: Reginald Rose
Directed By: Sidney Lumet


Described by IMDB as "The defense and the prosecution have rested and the jury is filing into the jury room to decide if a young Spanish-American is guilty or innocent of murdering his father. What begins as an open and shut case of murder soon becomes a mini-drama of each of the jurors' prejudices and preconceptions about the trial, the accused, and each other. Based on the play, all of the action takes place on the stage of the jury room."


This entire film takes place in one room, which is very different as far as I can tell. There are only maybe, 15 people in the whole film, so its pretty impressive that it remains interesting throughout the whole film. The entire movie rests on the story, and the acting. No action scenes, no love story, nothing that today's films rely on. I also really liked that even though they could have filmed in colour by that time, they didn't even need to rely on that.. just the story. It was nominated at the 1958 Academy Awards for Best Director, Best Picture, and best writing.


This film is about a young man who's too poor to hire a decent lawyer and has to rely on a single man (Henry Fonda) to convince them otherwise. It was so interesting to hear civilians tear the stories apart when a lawyer couldn't. I absolutely loved the part where they're arguing about the knife and and he slams his own knife that looks exactly the same into the table. At that point I knew for sure that he was was going to change everyone's minds. I just can't get over just how brilliantly they kept this film going. The thought that I could sit through an hour and a half of watching 12 men argue with each other in one room is amazing, but I just wanted to hear more each time. It wouldn't have been the same even if it had been in a courtroom, just the fact that regular people could tear this trial apart.


I'm going to give this film an 8/10. Its #6 for a reason!

Kiwi Film Review: Titanic 3D

Heart is racing, eyes are leaking... you know what this means. Titanic 3D Review

IMDB: 7.5/10
Rotten Tomatoes: 84%
Roger Ebert: 4/4 Stars


Original Release Date:
3D Release Date:

Stars: Leonardo DiCaprio, Kate Winslet, Kathy Bates, Bill Paxton, Victor Garber.
Written & Directed by: James Cameron


Described by IMDB as "84 years later, a 100-year-old woman named Rose DeWitt Bukater tells the story to her granddaughter Lizzy Calvert, Brock Lovett, Lewis Bodine, Bobby Buell and Anatoly Mikailavich on the Keldysh about her life set in April 10th 1912, on a ship called Titanic when young Rose boards the departing ship with the upper-class passengers and her mother, Ruth DeWitt Bukater, and her fiancé, Caledon Hockley. Meanwhile, a drifter and artist named Jack Dawson and his best friend Fabrizio De Rossi win third-class tickets to the ship in a game. And she explains the whole story from departure until the death of Titanic on its first and last voyage April 15th, 1912 at 2:20 in the morning."


I'm not even sure where to begin on this one. You've all seen it, we all love it. The only word  can really think of to describe it is "masterpiece". There is no one in the world who would be better suited to make this film then James Cameron. By 2005 he'd made more then 30 trips to the Titanic. What other film maker could do a better job? I say not a single person. James Cameron as a boss. Quite possibly the real life "Most Interesting man in the World." 


There are so many things I love about this film. First off, I really love the fact that they included lots of footage of the Titanic as it is now, at the bottom of the ocean. Even though I've watched a bunch of documentaries on the Titanic, including one on how the film was made, so I know how a lot of the scenes were filmed and the special effects work, everything looked so realistic. Its amazing the quality of the special effects for the 90's. They even had to create some of the technology the used. Impressive to say the least. 

I also love the fact that they show the modern day Rose. It really makes the story complete. In fact, for me the saddest part of the whole film was at the very end when she dreams that she's back on the ship and everyone is there to greet her, and she walks up the stairs and Jack is there waiting for him. I actually started bawling at that point. But besides that, it shows that even though Brock Lovett(Paxton) desperately wanted to find the heart of the ocean, and did't care about disturbing the Titanic wreckage, in the end he realizes that its a real story, involving real people, and Rose shows him that. There were some scenes that really got me. Like the ones where they show a wide shot where you see the Titanic with nothing but ocean surrounding it for hundreds of miles. It showed how alone they were in the middle of nowhere. 


Finally, I love how much effort was put into this film. They rebuilt half of the entire ship to film. The cast was so great. Kate Winslet and Leonardo DiCaprio were so young and beautiful. I know it must be hard to move past a role like this for them, but they were so brilliant in it. I love how they used almost all real stories; Molly Brown(Bates), Mr. Andrews(Gaber), most of the crew, and then added the story about Rose(Winslet) and Jack(DiCaprio). Even this is a mystery because even though the characters are fictional, it is unknown  for sure who stayed in the room that Rose was using. If you're as obsessed with the story of the Titanic you should check out some of the documentaries. The 2005 National Geographic show with James Cameron is a great one. 


I'm actually quite surprised with the IMDB  rating, I would'v thought it would be higher, not that 7.5 isn't a good score. I loved the film beforehand, but seeing the documentary I saw on how the film was made was made me even more impressed, sort of like how The Social Network made me more impressed with Facebook.

I'll give this film a 9/10, my highest score yet. Honestly, anyone who debates how amazing this film is, is wrong and crazy. I can understand not enjoying "romance films" but this is so much more then that, its one of the most important films of the last few decades. I know you've already seen this film.. but if you're younger than 25, chances are you haven't seen it in theatres, and even if you have, you have't seen it in IMAX or 3D. It makes it so much more. Plus, its not like it was a surprise ending the first time you saw it. Spend the money, go see this film. Its even better then you remember.

Kiwi Film Review: The Ghost Writer

IMDB: 7.4/10
Rotten Tomatoes: 84%
Roger Ebert: 4/4 Stars


Release Date: 19 March 2010

Stars: Ewan McGregor, Pierce Brosnan, Jim Belushi, Kim Cattrall, Olivia Williams.
Written by: Roman Polanski (Screenplay), Robert Harris(Novel, Screenplay)
Directed by: Roman  Polanski

Described by IMDB as " An unremarkable ghost-writer has landed a lucrative contract to redact the memoirs of Adam Lang, the former UK Prime Minister. After dominating British politics for years, Lang has retired with his wife to the USA. He lives on an island, in luxurious, isolated premises complete with a security detail and a secretarial staff. Soon, Adam Lang gets embroiled in a major scandal with international ramifications that reveals how far he was ready to go in order to nurture UK's "special relationship" with the USA. But before this controversy has started, before even he has closed the deal with the publisher, the ghost-writer gets unmistakable signs that the turgid draft he is tasked to put into shape inexplicably constitutes highly sensitive material. "

I love a good thriller, and this definitely one of them. Ewan McGregor never fails to impress wit his skill or beauty. Pierce Brosnan also didn't suck, which was a surprising turn  of events. I'm not the biggest fan of his, and I think they probably could've found a better actor to play his part, but he did his job. The rest of the cast was great. The story was solid and interesting, never a dull moment. You really didn't know who were the good guys and who were the bad guys until the end. I do have to say *Spoiler Alert* that I did suspect the wife for parts of the film, but I really didn't know for sure what was going to happen until the end.
I really hate how good Roman Polanski is at making films,because damn he's a bad man. I'm actually extremely surprised he can still get people to be in his films. I think if I was ever offered a job with him I'd definitely have to take a deep long think about it.


This film was thrilling and suspenseful. A great story and great writing. Overall I'll give it a 8/10.

Kiwi Film Review: Shakespeare In Love

IMDB: 7.3
Rotten Tomatoes: 93%
Roger Ebert: 4/4 Stars


Release Date: 25 December 1998

Stars: Gwyneth Paltrow, Joseph Fiennes, Geofrey Rush, Colin Firth, Ben Affleck, Judi Dench
Written By: Marc Norman, Tom Stoppard,
Directed By: John Madden

Described my IMDB as "Romantic comedy set in London in the late 16th century: Young playwright William Shakespeare struggles with his latest work "Romeo and Ethel the Pirate's Daughter". A great fan of Shakespeare's plays is young, wealthy Viola who is about to be married to the cold-hearted Lord Wessex, but constantly dreams of becoming an actress. Women were not allowed to act on stage at that time (female roles were played by men, too), but dressed up as a boy, Viola successfully auditions for the part of Romeo. Soon she and William are caught in a forbidden romance that provides rich inspiration for his play."


I'd like to start this review by saying how ashamed I am that I have not seen this film until tonight. It has definitely cemented itself into my favorites list. The romance, the tragedy, the passion. Its quite interesting to see William Shakespeare himself in a film. Its such a great story that you truely want it to be a true story, but alas, it is not. It would've given so much more life to the story and understanding of Shakespeare. Unfortunately we'll never truly know what the truth about the full life of Shakespeare(at least I think we won't, I'm sure some people know). I've always loved Shakespeare, who hasn't really, and I've always been curious about him. I guess because of all of those rumours that he was gay, but also because you really just want to know what kind of man could write the beautiful words that he wrote.


As for the film itself, so well done. A comedy and almost a tragedy itself, the list of actors is something to see. A brilliant cast, so the level of acting isn't exactly a surprise. The costumes were brilliant. I really need to look up a picture of Queen Elizabeth because in just about every film I've seen of her, she is portray pretty hideously, this film included. As much as I love Judi Dench, this isn't her most beautiful role, but she played it great. Before I go any further, I suppose I should mention the staggering 13 Academy Award nominations and 7 Academy Award wins including Best Actress in a Leading Role, Best Actress in a Supporting Role, and Best Picture at the 1999 Oscars. Amazing! The writing was brilliant as well, I suppose they got a lot of support from Shakespeare's work itself, but still a great job. The love story between Viola(Paltrow) and Shakespeare(Fiennes) is so wonderful and sweet, but also so sad, and a perfect inspiration for Romeo & Juliet. Perfect for a story like this.

I give this film a 8.5/10. A solid film. Highly recommended to anyone who enjoys a true love story. Unfortunately not enough males enjoy the passion of Shakespeare these days. Sad indeed.

Kiwi Film Review: All Good Things

IMDB: 6.3
Rotten Tomatoes: 32%
Roger Ebert: 3.5/4 Stars


Release Date: 9 December 2010


Stars: Ryan Gosling, Kirsten Dunst Frank Langella
Directed By: Andrew Jarecki
Written By: Marcus Hinchey, Marc Smerling.


Described by IMDB as "A love story and murder mystery based on the most notorious unsolved murder case in New York history. The original screenplay uses newly discovered facts, court records and speculation as the foundation for a story of family, obsession, love and loss."


So clearly some mixed reviews. I'm not going to say this movie deserves a 10 or something, but seriously Rotten Tomatoes? 32%? At first I thought I had probably lost my mind or movie reviewing credibility, but Roger Ebert gave it a strong review, so I think I'm fine.

I actually really enjoyed this movie. Knowing right off the bat that it's a true story made it more interesting, terrifying and enjoyable. I love Ryan Gosling in pretty much anything, and I really enjoyed seeing him in a different role then he normally plays. I also didn't hate Kirsten Dunst in this  role, so thats a good sign. I really enjoy movies like this, murder mysteries. I think its mostly because even though we know that David Marks(Gosling) clearly killed his wife Katie(Dunst), he lives in Florida, free, and hasn't served any time for it. I don't understand how that is at all possible as in the film he is portrayed as having a temper with many, many witnesses. However, I suppose not everything in the film is true, which makes it difficult to make a certain decision on it, but even if only part of the film is true, its pretty clear he was a seriously bad dude. I think the film was pretty well done. Constantly interesting, you just don't know what will happen next. It had the same feel as Zodiac in the sense that its a true unsolved murder, where the film gives you a clear murder, who has still not been charged. These films really tend to be more intense because you really know how it ends from the beginning.


Luckily, for his sake, they changed his name in the film, but I will not give him the same courtesy.  His real name is Robert A. Durst, a real estate investor in Florida. Its actually quite sickening that he most likely got away with not one, but three murders. I was only charged with one, which he convinced them was self defence, and only received 9 months in jail for wrongly disposing of a body. Insanity.


Overall I'll give this film a 7/10. I'd definitely tell just about anyone to see it.