Review of Pirates of the Caribbean : On Stranger Tides

Hey guys. I saw Pirates of the Caribbean 4 yesterday with my friends at Yorkdale. I am a huge fan of these Movies, so I was actually dissapointed in this movie. When I watch a movie I try to look at it from all angles. Screenplay, graphics, actings etc. The graphics were pretty much the same as it's predecessors. Amazing and mind blowing so the movie did not fall flat in that area. However it fell extremely flat in other areas. First of all the plot and the screenplay! It wasn't good. The plot felt a bit half assed and all over the place, leaving me confused at times. The screenplay was also half assed. There were many jokes that felt random and didn't flow with the mood of the movies too well. There were some scenes that seemed pointless and looked like there were added to waste time and not help to advance the plot. In terms of characters I had no problem with how Johnny Depp reprised his role as lethargic, witty pirate Captain Jack Sparrow. He seemed the same, but it's a shame that there were times when he had very weak lines to work with. Penelope Cruz' role as Angelica, Sparrow's long lost love whom he abandoned, was potrayed exceptionally as well though there were times when I felt when she was merely exploited to only add sex appeal to the movie. The best part of the movie in my personal opinion were the killer mermaids. There were the only thing that was reminiscent to the other movies and what made Pirates of the Caribbean a success in the first place, the magic, adventure and fantasy. Otherwise from that I don't see anything that made it all that interested. I like to get lost in a movie and that didn't happen with me when I saw this one. I was constanly looking at the time, hoping that it would end soon. I give it a 3/5 because I still love Jack Sparrow and the mermaids was a good addition to the movie franchise. The ending leaves room for a sequel. Hopefully the next one will be better and restore my faith in these movies. I hope they bring back orlando bloom though. I kinda miss him LOL.


                            

OPI oh My oh My!

                                  

                                                        Mod About You

                                                        

                                            A good Mandarin Is Hard to Find

                                              

                                                     I'm Not Really A waitress

                                                   

                                                            Party in My Cabana

New Make-up Loves

My friend recently stopped by the house and showed me her new make up purchases from Revlon. I tried on 2 of the colours Fire and Ice and Kiss Me Coral. I can't wait to run to walmart and try to get my hand on at least one of these colours. I think they are awesome, and I am truly a sucker for colour.


720 -  Fire and Ice



                                  
750 - Kiss Me Coral

Spike Lee vs. Tyler Perry

      

Hey guys. It has recently come to my attention that black film directors and Spike Lee and Tyler Perry apparently have "beef" with each other. Why do you ask? why is it that the very few black film directors that both produce good work just can' t get along? Well the way that I see Spike Lee dosn't think that Tyler Perry is putting out good work and calls it "coonery buffonery" ( I think that is hilarious, I don't know if it's because it rhymes but I just found that phrase funny. Tyler Perry obviously isn't happy about the hate being thrown his way by Lee telling him to "Go to hell". Here is  my opinion on this. First of all, it's sad that these two are fighting, but I will say that I can to a certain extent see Spike Lee's point. I don't agree with the coonery buffornery statement though I do find it funny. I do agree that even though Tyler Perry has made millions from his films they arn't the most thought provoking films. They are very formulaic with the same concepts, story lines and characters being repeated in each film. Before you go and see it you already know how it will start and finish. I would be a hyprocrite if I said that his movies didn't give me a couple of laughs, because they have. There is nothing wrong with producing films that you know are going to uplift people and make them laugh. The thing is, I do wish that as a director Tyler Perry would aim for having more variety in his films. Spike Lees films have always been known to be thought provoking and to push the bounderies. His movies have become iconic in black film even contributing to pop culuture ( LOL everytime you see a person of another race with a black man you say they have Jungle Fever). Movies such as School Daze and Do the Right thing have always worked to bring to light a lot of issues within the black community. On the other hand he hasn't come out with any movies lately, the last known movie being Miracle at St.Anna I believe, a movie that barely made waves at the box office. I definitely don't knock Spike Lee. There is more worth to a director than the amount of money they pull in at the box office. It's about the art. It's about expressing your views and sometimes your views arn't going to be as appealing as the kick ass special effects of Transformers, the buffonery of Zack Galifinakis of The Hangover or even the gun wielding psychotic mess that is Madea. There are plenty of great directors out there that focus more on the art and don't necessarily care about pulling in big box office dough like the works of Michael Bay or Stephen Speilberg. No matter what you say about Tyler Perry at least he is continuously with every film providing jobs to many black actors especially Black Women who constantly struggle to find acting jobs, that don't have them playing the same part over and over again. I'm sure that many of these actors would love to participate in other movies but he's the only one hiring and they still have rent to pay and for some of them children to feed and take care of. With all of that being said after thinking of things from both perspectives, I think that they should settle their differences and even try to work together on a project. There is no use in using all of this time disputing when it can be use to make some good black cinema.

MMVA'S ARE COMING UP!! And MY BOYFRIEND IS GONNA BE THERE!

Forgive my over excitement, but the MuchMusic Video awards are coming up June 19th and I can't wait. Especially since it has been brought to my attention that my boyfriend  Bruno Mars is going to be there. Not only is he nominated for one (fave international artist) but he is also going to perform :D! I have never been to the mmva's ever. There was one time back in 11th grade when me and my friends wanted to go but a whole bunch of things interfered and our plans were foiled. This year however is going to be different.  I don't care how but i WILL be getting a wristband, even if it means being like a crazy woman and camping out, I will be gettin me a wristband so that I can see my boyfriend perform live!!!!!!!!


          


          

                                       I wonder if he'll bring the monkeys with him......

On the Verge of Product Junkism...

Even though I'm not a product junkie for sure as of yet, I'm pretty sure that I am in my head. There are so many products that I would love to try for my transitioning hair. Below are the ones that I would really love to try. These are products that I have done a lot of research on ( When I say research, I mean that these are products that have repeatedly apeared in a variety of youtube videos). A lot of naturals are raving about these products which Makes me want to give them a try. Unfortunately being the Canadian natural that I am, I don't have easy access to majority of these products at the same price. However, there is a store in Toronto called Honey fig that I really want to go and explore. My aunty ( the one who is also transitioning) has been there already and has picked up a number of products. They have everything there that they rave about in the united states. The only main difference is the prices ofcourse. Many of the prices are double that of the United states or a couple of dollars over. But then again, if you think about it, if you were to order these products from the United States then add the shipping you would probably be payin the same amount of money for the products anyway. So I guess I have no choice to bite the bullet and just settle for honey fig. I really want to pay a visit to this store and see the products there and what it is like. Anyways, enough talking these are the products that I would like to try.

           

              Coconut Lemongrass Transitioning Creme from  Darcy's Botanicals 8oz. 240ml. $22 CAD

                                                         
                                     
                                  Darcy Botanicals Deep Conditioning Mask 8oz/240 ml. $24 CAD




                                                   

                    Darcy's Botanicals Avocado and Honey Cream 8oz/ 240 ml $20 CAD


                                                                          
                                                                                 
                                Kinky Curly Knot Today Leave - in - Conditioner 8oz/240ml $24 CAD

                                                                     

                                                       Kinky Curly Curling Custard 16oz $40 CAD
I heard this stuff is the BOMB!!! I've read a lot of reviews and seen a lot of youtube tutorials on it. I has been given a lot of rewards from Curlmart and Essence magazine. I would love to try it out of myself and see how it works out for me.



                                      

Shea Moisture Organic Raw Shea Butter Deep Treatment Masque $20 CAD

I need a new deep treatment mask. The Morrocan Oil isn't really doing it for me. This product is cheaper and I've heard damn great reviews about this product line.


Tools that I think are cool:

Tangle Teezer
                                    


                                                    Tangle Teezer $13.70 CAD

I heard this product is amazing. It's supposed to cut your detangling time in half and is better and effectively distributing product through your hair. I've seen plenty of youtube tutorials on it and I'm convinced.

                 

Huetiful Hair Steamer ( Not sure of the cost in Canadian dollars)

I find the product to be very interesting. I saw a tutorial for it and I was amazed to see how it works. It steams your hair using water, leaving it soft and moist.

The Troubles of a Transitioner.

Hey those that pay attention to this blog. The reason that I wanted to do this post is because I recently had a discussion with my aunt (who is also a transitioner 4 months ahead of me) and hair came up. She asked me how I've been doing with it and I said that I was doing well. My hair has been in single braids for 2weeks today, so my hands are out of it. My hair has been growing freely without little intervention and manipulation. When I asked her how her hair was she told me that she was ready to give up. She had her hair in single braids as well and recently took them out. She told me that she was having a lot of difficulty styling the two textures of hair and was frustrated to the point where she is actually contemplating going back to perming her hair. When she told me this I gave her my opinion as well as a couple words of wisdom.  I told her to not give up. There is no doubt that there have been times when I thought about going back. My hair naturally is in a state where I can't really do much with it by itself. Because I have decided to no do the big chop as of yet, My hair is not only two textures but different lengths all over. The permed parts in the middle broke off significantly making it really short, my front is long and my sides are at a medium length. I really don't know what to do with my natural hair at the moment which is why I braid it. If i didn't braid it I can admitt that I would be so frustrated that I would be tempted to perm it. This is something that a lot of naturals go through, being in a state of limbo where you want to perm it but you don't want to at the same time. I told her that it is so easy to give up and give into something that you have been familiar with for so long. When you've been living with a certain texture for so long ( majority of your life or a series of years) it's hard to deal with a hair texture that is "foreign" to you. I told her why I personally havn't given up.

1. Giving my natural hair a chance.
Like I said, it's so easy to give into something that you havn't been familiar with for so long. I've had permed hair for 10 years. I don't even remember what it is like to run my fingers through my natural kinky coily hair. I wanted to really give my natural hair a chance, as a more educated, older and wiser woman. Now that I know what my natural hair needs to thrive and be healthy, I know that it will be easier and a worth while experience.

2. It's actually a little exciting!
The thought of going natural has actually been exciting to me. After looking at varioius pictures of natural hair and hair styles and viewing videos of ladies transitioning from relaxed to natural hair like me,  I am really excited and curious to see how my hair is going to turn out once I finally cut off the relaxed parts, and see my natural curl pattern. This is one of the main reasons that keeps me motivated to continue my natuaral hair journey and not give up so easily. It's like being reaquanted with something that you havn't seen in so long.

3. The cute styles you can rock with it
There are so many ways that you can style natural hair, contrary to popular belief. Growing up it was believed that natural hair is not versatile and is difficult to style and manage. But if you're constantly trying to manuver your hair to do things that it was just not meant to do (such as combing extremely curly hair with a fine tooth comb that is ususally more suited for straight hair) you are going to get frustrated. If you took the time to get to know what your specific hair type needs and worked with it instead of against it you would realize that there are plenty of styles that you can  rock with natural hair. You can rock it straight by finding a straightening iron

4. The cool products that you can use
In terms of the basic shampoo, conditioner and leave - in - conditioner you can use it no matter what hair type you have, but now there are so many organic products out on the market that are truly better for your hair. Products with out sulfutes, parabens, mineral oil , petrolatum and other "evils". Back in the day you either had to make your own concoctions ( which you can still do, but it can be time consuming and strenuous sometimes) or settle for products that wern't for your hair type. Now there are so many products to choose from and try out to see what works for your hair and what will make taking care of it and styling it easy. Product lines such as Carol's Daughter, Darcy Botanicals, Kinky Curly, Qhemet Biologics, Oyin Handmade as well as others.

My tips to other transitioners out there other than myself is to not give in so easily. Try your best to keep yourself motivated as much as possible. Look up videos on youtube so that you will get a sense of what other transitioners have been through, and how they style and take care of their hair. Look up images on google of natural hair styles and celebrities ( dead or alive) with natural hair styles ( My favourites are Solange Knowles, Marsha Hunt, Chaka Khan, and Janelle Monae). The key to transitioning and going natural is patience. Remember that your hair isn't just going to grow to the length that you want overnight so continue to be patient and focus on your goal. 4 full months have already gone by since my last perm and even though I'll know I've made official progress once I meet the 6 months mark I am still proud of the progress that I've made and happy about how my hair is growing. Natural hair is not a trend in my opinion but it should be a movement for those that have lived with permed hair for so long. Many are deciding to say goodbye to the creamy crack and hello to making peace with their natural god given hair.


                            

                                              Solange Knowles and her Gorgous Blow Out



                           One of my Favourite Naturals - LOve that Fro

4 months el natural!!!

Today marks 4 months since I've had a relaxer (yaaaay!) so to celebrate, here are some pictures of some natural photos, to help keep me as well as other transitioners out there inspired :).