Rom-coms

16 Candles

The movie “Sixteen Candles” is very well known and has a striking 80’s fashion. The start of the movie begins as Samantha Baker’s played by Molly Ringwald’s sixteenth birthday and her whole family ends up forgetting about it due to the fact that her ‘more feminine’ sister is getting married the next day. 

This movie goes pretty fast especially since it is based on a two-day timeline,  which I don’t think most movies do, especially rom-coms. As the movie begins, Jack Ryan,played by Michael Schoeffling, who is the popular boy, seems interested in Sam from the start since he was caught staring at her at the start of school in class.

Many things were going on in one day, such as it being Sam’s sixteenth birthday, as well as  a dance. At the dance, Jake Ryan really notices Sam and ends up asking one of the geeks, played by Anthony Michael Hall, about her who is on her bus. Jake is in a relationship with the hottest girl in school, which is to be expected in these types of romantic comedies– that the popular boy dates the popular girl.

The movie brings a basic but interesting turn of events during the whole movie with the geeks, the popular kids and the people who aren’t usually seen. The movie adds a twist when the next day Sam’s sister is having a wedding but before the wedding she took four muscle relaxers to deal with the pain because she started her menstrual cycle, which caused her to act drunk.  With Samantha and Jake only speaking for the first time as a very brief conversation between the two at the end of the movie. They go back to his house and celebrate her birthday with a cake, but she doesn’t blow out the candles and doesn’t .It was very heartwarming when I understood it was because she got everything she wished for. 

I wouldn’t say “Sixteen Candles” is like any other rom-com. Sadly it’s a pretty self-explanatory movie as you continue to watch it since all romantic comedies end the same, but it is still my favorite 80’s movie.

10 Things I Hate About You

“10 Things I Hate About You” follows Kat Stratford (Julia Stiles) as she is made a pawn of a naive new student’s scheme to date Bianca (Larisa Oleynik)—her popular, younger sister. This plan is created because their overprotective father forbids Bianca from dating unless Kat is also currently dating. This leads to Cameron (Joseph Gordon-Levitt)—the new student—and his friend tricking an entitled, rich boy, who also likes Bianca, into paying a boy to go out with Kat. 

Typically rom-coms are unrealistic and overdramatic. However, these characters make plausible decisions and have depth. For example, the love interest—Patrick (Heath Ledger)—is a well rounded character that has internal struggles and personal values. At first Patrick seems misogynistic—he bargains with Joey about the price it is to date Kat and makes rude comments on Bianca. He shows his sweeter side when he goes on a date with Kat and she gets drunk—he takes care of her and respects that she cannot consent to kiss him. He eventually tries to tie any loose ends with Joey, but Joey’s higher offer is something he cannot refuse and visibly regrets.

At times the movie was off putting, for the comedic aspect was childish or purely shock value. Even so, the well thought out aspects of comedy. For instance, Mr. Morgan (Daryl Mitchell) is a funny reality check. At the beginning of the movie, Kat calls out Joey for using his gender as a weapon against others. The teacher calms Kat down and ensures the watcher that if anything bad were to happen to Joey, he wouldn’t help him. Kat thinks she has won and goes on a rant about why female authors don’t get a spot-light in school. Mr. Morgan shuts Kat down, for she lives a privileged life. He continues about how black authors don’t get a spot-light either, but no one cares about that. 

As a whole, the movie had few slow or unnecessary scenes that did not advance the plot. The screenwriters did a good job by having entertaining side characters and making Kat an imperfect person that struggles with showing her emotions at times. While the comedy aspect lacked in some areas, it was still prominent and enjoyable.

13 Going On 30

“13 going on 30” is made with a no good fairytale as it starts off with a wish.  As the movie progresses, it shows that Jenna played by Jennifer Garner is jealous of the beautiful girls in her magazines. Magical dust that Matt played by Mark Ruffalo puts on a model house he made for her birthday, falls on her while she wishes to be “thirty, flirty and thriving.” This leaves Jenna to get used to being thirteen in a thirty- year old body. 

This movie has many obstacles for the main character good and bad throughout the movie since it’s such a slow progressing plot. But there  were moments in the movie that if you weren’t paying attention, you would miss something important along the storyline such as her co-worker played by Judy Greer was one of the girls from high school. 

For example, Jenna has a boyfriend and meets him when she first finds out she is thirty. However Matt is engaged, which is found out later on in the movie when Jenna runs into them. It leaves this offset feeling in your stomach because it’s obvious that they both fall in love with each other as the movie progresses. It shows in this movie how far a person would go to the feeling of love. 

At the end, she confesses her love but gets turned down. She surprisingly goes back to being thirteen with the same wishing dust that turned her thirty at the start of the movie. 

Like any rom-com it was a little cringey at some points in the movie because I felt embarrassed of how the characters act. I don’t usually watch many romantic comedies but overall it was a mix of emotions that I developed throughout watching it. With that being said, I overall think it was a good movie, but it wasn’t a type of movie I would constantly want to watch just because I think it moves too slowly.

Things We Love

Prismacolor Pencils

Prismacolor Premier pencils are my absolute favorite medium to work with. They blend so incredibly smooth with their wax base, yet allowing refined details with their potent pigment. There’s also an incredible array of colors to choose from, as well as clear blending pencils to make colors more vibrant. 

It should be known that they are rather expensive, a 12 pack being roughly $14-$20, and my personal 48 set being sold between $50-$60 dollars.  Not only are the pencils expensive, but you’re guaranteed to run out of one color before all the rest. For me, white goes the fastest because I use it to smooth and blend my colors. 

Luckily not only are there sets with varying ranges of colors, but you can individually stock up on a shade you go through quickly,  or specifically require. Those refills of course vary in price depending on the supplier due to profit margins, but roughly  average out to a $1.50, maybe two dollars.  They can easily be obtained on Amazon or in craft stores such as Jo-Ann Fabrics or Michaels.

Not everything’s fine and dandy with Prismacolor though— aside from the high price point, they’re incredibly fragile despite their “thick core.” It seems like dropping them once causes the inside to shatter, and makes the tip break off every time it’s sharpened. It’s also strainful on your hands to press down so hard in order to gain the rich colors, which can be difficult to erase and smudge very easily.

Despite these shortcomings, it’s undeniably the best brand I’ve worked with and a joy to receive. So treat them well when you have them, but always use them up entirely, no holding back.  With quality like this, it’s a waste not to. On that note, I rate them a solid four out of five hearts.

League Of Legends

I have a love-hate relationship with the game “League of Legends” I’m either really enjoying it or wanting to rip my head off playing it.

Despite this, I still call the jungle my second home. Although I have taken a liking to some of the characters that associate with the jungle, neither of them compare to the experience I have with Nunu and Willump.

  In the universe of “League of Legends”, the character is a duo involving Nunu, the kid, and his yeti friend named Willump going on adventures together across the arctic. The Jungler is tasked with slaying monsters in the jungle areas, assisting other teammates, and managing objectives. What makes them different from other junglers is that they can widely ruin the other team’s, and to secure objectives fairly easily and stay in the fight with their abilities. 

They do have weaknesses however, their own pace and objectives can be interrupted easily early in the game and their playstyle is predictable as they are a simple character. 

My favorite out of all their abilities is named “Biggest snowball ever!” where Willump starts to roll a gigantic snowball and crashes into people with it. Their voice lines and interactions are another reason for why I like this character so much, Nunu rambling to Willump on long walks, the two encountering monsters, and his lore have always made me smile. 

Despite all of this, I’ve never bought a cosmetic or outfit for them. Mainly because I love the blue and white color palette that their default designs have already, although they are cosmetic, which I may purchase if I like it.

Candy

Sweet tooth, sugar addict, sucrose junkie; call me what you will but I love candy. Sweet and sour, hard and chewy, I love it all. It is for just this reason that I’ve compiled this short list of some of my favorite candies, in the hopes that I may encourage others to partake in the bliss they deliver.

• Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups: Even after being diagnosed with a mild peanut allergy, I just cannot put down Reese’s. The perfect blend of sweet milk chocolate and smooth peanut butter, Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups are nothing less than bite-sized bits of heaven.
• Jolly Ranchers: An American classic, Jolly Ranchers are the perfect candy not to gulf down in one bite. Sweet with just a hint of sour, Jolly Ranchers really are as pleasant as their name sounds. Conveniently packaged and without a tendency to melt or get sticky, Jolly Ranchers are perfect for on the go, or at home, or anywhere really.
• Sour Punch: From strips, strings and bites Sour Punch is pinnacle of sour gummies. With a variety of assorted flavors and variants, sour punch has something to offer everyone. Initially offering a few delicious tangy bites before melting away into sweet gummy goodness.