Swans, Fire, and Hunger

I can clearly see now why I've heard numerous things about this movie. Half of them in praise, half of them mutters from a disturbed mind. Plus, it was on my to-watch movie list. I had no idea what Black Swan was or anything related to the plot. I've heard of it from other people.

"Hey Stanley, have you watched Black Swan yet? No? It's psycho thriller stuff. I think you'll like it."

Psycho, indeed. Disturbing, yes. I applaud the direction the film was heading towards. A delusional sense of perfection that must be met. Creepy hallucinations that make Tyler Durden look sane. Several times during the movie, I was clenching my phone (that I took out to check a text) as tightly as possible in anticipation of what was going to pop out next. I let out a small scream when Nina hallucinated Beth in the reflection of her mirror. However, the movie became way too predictable. Once they explained the story of Swan Lake within the film, I knew what was going to happen. They did it quite nicely, though.

Overall, the movie was pretty good. But I don't know how to explain or put into words this feeling I have about this movie. It was good, but it wasn't quite satisfying enough. Maybe because when I watch or read anything psychological, I want to question the world, not one's perfection.

I just finished read The Girl Who Played With Fire. Long overdue. I just couldn't find it in myself to read in one heck of a noisy suite at school. Plus, it doesn't help that the first 200 pages are kind of boring. It's not until the plot picks up that you will forget what the meaning of sleep is. The plot was wildly engrossing. However, the ending did not tie up loose ends. By that I mean, it leaves you not knowing the outcome of the final conflict. We do find out who murdered who and why. This only means I have to go and buy the third book (which I plan on doing anyways). For anyone who has not read any of the book in this series, I highly recommend that you do. If you can get over the Swedish names, excessive sexual and violent situations then you will find yourself enjoying an amazing crime thriller series. You can't help but root for the heroine. She's unlike any female character that I have read about or watched. You can't help but want to be her friend if she was real.

Another book I just finished this past week is Hunger Games. An unexpected read for me. I mentioned that I would blog about this in my last post. Here it is. The book I didn't plan on reading or expected to read. My sister borrowed this book from her friend and recommended that I read it. I thought it was going to be about world hunger or something addressing hunger. Just the thought of it downed my interest. I can't read a book that doesn't fully capture my attention. The last book that did that to me was a book my ETS professor praised last year. Bel Canto. It's about a Japanese businessman or something who has his birthday party in Brazil taken over by terrorists. I was so downright bored half way through that I had to SparkNotes the rest of it. Anyways, back to Hunger Games. Imagine a dilapidated future for the United States (that's how I imagined it). The country is built around the Capitol (the center of the country where all the rich and powerful people are). It's surrounded by twelve districts (and an annihilated thirteenth). Now think of the Japanese movie Battle Royale. A male and a female from each district is picked each year to compete in the Hunger Games, an event held where each person picked battles each other for their lives. This is to remind the districts the power that the Capitol holds. A good read that overflows with a bit of cheesiness. Another book that features a strong female lead. I'm just waiting now for my sister to finish the second book so that I can read it.