Insurgent

Rating: ●●●●○

Certification: PG13

Genre: Adventure, Sci-fi, Thriller, Action

Stars: Shailene Woodley, Kate Winslet, Theo James

Director: Robert Schwentke

Running time: 120min

Alert: NO SPOILERS

Synopsis: This movie is a sequel to Divergent (2014) and is part of a trilogy. Beatrice Prior must confront her inner demons and continue her fight against a powerful alliance which threatens to tear her society apart with the help from others on her side.

Review: I thought this movie was great! This is coming from someone who hated the previous movie and thought it was an uninspiring rip-off of Hunger Games, Maze Runner and The Giver. I don’t know which book was written first but all I know is I was seeing too much of the same thing and Divergent was the lamest of them all.

But, after seeing the Insurgent trailer I thought I’d give it a go and was glad I did! This sequel kept me interested, involved and entertained. However I found Tris (Shailene Woodley) to be extremely annoying in the first half of the movie and I couldn’t wait till she got punched in the face or something.

The movie relied heavily on the suspense surrounding the box (what is it going to reveal???) and it turned out to be a silly revelation- almost identical to The Maze Runner and The Giver. But it still made for a very enjoyable film with really good CGI and special effects.

The ratings on Rotten Tomatoes are very low, not sure why. I think people who are fans of the book were disappointed with the movie. I haven’t read any of them so I can’t comment.

Side note: The author of this book, Veronica Roth, is so young! Good for her. But I am starting to wonder how her books became a best seller when it’s almost identical to so many others released before it. A budding author myself, I strive to come up with ideas that are unique and original. I wouldn’t ride the coat tails of other people’s hard work- at least not in this undistinguishable manner.

♡, Sana xx

Chappie

Rating: ●●●●○

Certification: Violence, Language

 Genre: Action, Sci-Fi, Thriller and if you’re South African: Comedy

Stars: Sharlto Copley, Dev Patel, Sigourney Weaver, Hugh Jackman

Director: Neill Blomkamp

Running time: 120 min

 Alert: NO SPOILERS

Synopsis: In the near future, crime is patrolled by a mechanized police force. When one police droid, Chappie, is stolen and given new programming, he becomes the first robot with the ability to think and feel for himself.

Review: The concept of artificial intelligence isn’t a new one. Neither is the idea of downloading your thoughts and memories into a computer/robot and living forever as a machine. I heard Ross talk about it in Season 6 of Friends and just the other day Dr. Daniel Pierce explored the concept in Perception. It has been used in many sci-fi films and now it’s the theme of South African director Neill Blomkamp’s latest movie.

I want to start off by saying the bad ratings this film is getting online is totally unjustified. This movie was really interesting and the CGI was fantastic. I must admit the trailer is very deceiving (what is up with that nowadays?). It portrays the movie to be a full on action, violent, warlike film which isn’t my cup of tea. I sort of dragged myself to watch it because I am South African and felt patriotic.

I’m so glad I did! The story is set in the not-so-distant future where police robots successfully serve and protect the city of Johannesburg. The engineer who designed these robots, aspires to create a model that can think for itself, but he's barred from doing so by his chilly boss. He creates the robot anyway and thus our lead character Chappie is born. Most of the film is about Chappie’s journey and transformation from child to killing machine. There are some gory action scenes towards the end but otherwise the movie is pretty tame.

Some reviewers claim you don’t feel any emotional attachment to Chappie but I certainly did. There’s a scene with him and a few rogue kids that made me want to cry. By the way, I thought comedian Riaad Moosa voiced the Chappie character but it’s actually Sharlto Copley.

It’s a serious movie with a bit of easy humour and I found myself laughing a lot. To be totally honest I laughed at the accents and some of the bad acting (Hello Brandon Auret) more than the actual jokes. It might have annoyed other movie goers but it made it enjoyable for me! All in all the film is seamlessly executed. Ignore the other ratings and give it a go!

Side Note: The only criticism I have is the director and writers had a chance to shed light on the violent and terrifying crime in South Africa and perhaps start a movement against it. I don’t want to emphasise the negative aspects of my country, but this is a matter close to my heart. Our beautiful city of Johannesburg is becoming a metropolis of horror and the government are doing zilch about it. They benefit from crime and corruption, so turn a blind eye to it, whilst our thriving town withers away. The way lawbreakers and felons are portrayed in the movie is almost a joke. The kind and dim-witted villains are nothing like the heartless, shameless, impudent, aggressive, extreme criminals we face in reality. We are a happy, friendly, flourishing nation but we live in constant fear for our lives and the lives of our loved ones. We imprison ourselves in our homes and offices, always armed and always aware. Children don’t play in the streets or the parks like we used to when we were younger. We don’t even realise how much we have adapted our lifestyles to be safe and how much of our freedom we have given up. It’s not fair. It’s not right. I wish Neill took this unique opportunity to make the world aware of the new version of apartheid that we are suffering.

#SaveSouthAfrica

♡, Sana xx

Water Permeable Nail Polish

After writing my post on Tuesday in Love’s water permeable nail polish, I thought I’d tell you why there’s been such a big hoo-ha about it.  

For many observant Muslim women, manicures have long posed a religious problem. With prayers five times a day, and a pre-prayer ritual that includes washing the hands and arms, traditional fingernail polish has been mostly off limits because it prevents water from making contact with the nails. Though the Quran does not specifically address the issue of nail polish (so not specified Halal nor Haram), some Islamic scholars have said that water must touch the surface of the nail for the washing ritual to be done correctly.

A craze built up with Muslim women around Inglot, when the news of its O2M breathable polish spread quickly over the Internet after an Islamic scholar tested and approved its use. The research involved putting the O2M polish and a standard polish on coffee filters, letting them both dry, and then putting water drops on top of each and seeing if the moisture seeped through. In the case of the traditional nail polish it did not, but it went through the O2M polish and even wet a second filter below. This meant the nail polish was permeable and therefore permissible to wear during the washing ritual (as water would reach the nails).

I have not seen the scholar’s test, but have watched many others online including one by Inglot themselves. It seems even though this isn’t a new topic, there is still some confusion and questions surrounding the permeability and reliability of the tests. So I decided to conduct one of my own. All the videos I watched online, use only ONE layer of the polish, with no base or top coat.

For my test I was more realistic and applied two coats of the polish, which is how I would apply it to my nails. I did not use a base or top coat. There are many water permeable and breathable nail polishes on the market these days but for my experiment, I compared Inglot’s O2M with Tuesday in Love and a standard nail polish. I did it on normal paper and a paper towel. The photos are below.

 

With no rubbing:

-Didn’t pass through standard polish.

-Didn’t pass through Inglot.

-After a long time it eventually passed through Tuesday in Love.

With rubbing:

-Didn’t pass through standard polish.

-Didn’t pass through Inglot. The water rolled right off it as if on a non-stick pan!

-Passed through Tuesday in Love.

I did the test twice just to be absolutely sure.

 

Notice how the water just stays there.

 

I know there are a lot of ladies out there who trust and use Inglot. If you don’t have any doubt, it is completely your choice. Inglot created this nail polish because breathable polish is healthier for your nails. They were not targeting Muslim women and did not even predict this kind of response. But they appreciate the patronage and are working on making the product better. A recent trial of theirs may reveal that not only water vapour but even a droplet can permeate a single layer of O2M polish but it’s not confirmed. They are also working on permeability with multiple layers. So keep an eye on them.

As far as full proof water permeable polish goes, my conclusion is to use Inglot only if you are applying one coat with no base or top coat. Otherwise use Tuesday in Love (which only requires one layer), also without a base and top coat. But please read my post on Tuesday in Love first, online here.

Now go getch yo nails did!!!

♡, Sana xx

Tuesday in Love

 

Today I want to talk about Tuesday in Love nail polish. They are a Canadian company who specialize in water permeable nail polish. On their website they claim their “revolutionary micro-pore technology, allows water molecules to penetrate through the semi permeable nail polish. This unique technology also allows easy peel away removal without the use of nail polish remover or harsh chemicals.”

I’m going to start with the pros.

·         The polish contains no harsh chemicals and is never tested on animals.

·         The company is socially conscious; proceeds from every purchase are donated to Plan Canada's “Because I am a Girl” initiative, that helps underprivileged girls all around the world.

·         The site has photos of each polish colour on a hand model which is great when trying to choose a shade online.

·         The variety of colours are great, the polish is milky opaque and needs only one coat.

·         Because of the easy peel away aspect, it’s effortless to clean any mistakes around the edges of the nail when applying. And no more nail polish remover!

·         The nail polish is semi-permeable as claimed, which I will discuss more in my next post. This means the polish is breathable and is healthier for your nails.

 

 

 

Now for the cons.

·         The nail polish is overpriced.

·         They have put no effort into the packaging of the product. None of the polishes have names or ingredients on them. Just Tuesday in Love labels. Someone like me would never remember the name verbatim for my next order or to recommend to another person.

·         The polishes don’t have a long shelf life. I had mine for about three months and they began to separate and looked discoloured and splotchy.

·         Besides the photos, the site is quite basic and someone needs to proof read their information pages.

·         The peel away technology. Even though the site lists this as a pro and I believe it has some benefits, the reality is the polish does not stay on your nails!! Because it easily peels off, all it takes is a little scratch to make the polish flake.

 

      You don’t even have to wash dishes or be doing manual labour. Just use your hands for anything and you are guaranteed to have chipped nail polish.

This is extremely frustrating, as I have no time to keep reapplying every hour! And what do I do if I’m out of the house and nowhere near my polish?

It felt like a waste of nail polish, money and time to keep using it and I ended up giving all my bottles away to my sister. I will add that many reviewers did not find the chipping problem as bad as I did. Theirs lasted from 6 hours up to 2 days. Lucky them, as I don't see how that is possible and I tried them all many, many times.

Tip: I loved the great colours and milky texture of the polishes, so to make the manicure last, I applied a clear top coat (of another brand which was non-permeable) over it and it was great! This did however, defeat the breathable/water permeable feature of the polish.

♡, Sana xx

Focus

Rating: ●●●◐○

Certification: Language, Sexual Content and Brief Violence

Genre: Crime, Drama, Romance, Comedy

Stars: Will Smith, Margot Robbie

Director: Glenn Ficarra, John Requa

Running time: 105 min

Alert: NO SPOILERS

Synopsis: Conman Nicky trains and becomes romantically involved with novice con artist Jess. As he’s teaching her the tricks of the trade, she gets too close for comfort and he abruptly breaks it off. Three years later, the former flame—now an accomplished femme fatale—shows up in the midst of Nicky’s latest, very dangerous scheme and throws his plans for a loop.

Review: I honestly did not know what this movie was going to be about. When I watched the trailer I thought it was about gambling and looked extremely boring. But upon reading a critic review the words “many plot twists and turns” got me interested. I love twists and turns and movies that keep me on the edge of my seat.

So off I went! And it didn't fail to please. You know the type of movie you are watching, so you suspect everyone and everything of being a scam and try to guess what's going to happen next but somehow they still find a way to get to you. The characters are always two steps ahead and make you feel like you, yourself are being conned.

It’s great until about two thirds of the way. That’s when the movie changes from a crime thriller to a romantic drama… Yawn! This movie had the potential to be Ocean’s Eleven kind of brilliant but they went and made it soppy.

Now, I’m a girly girl who loves love, but I feel this movie didn’t have to go that way. Especially because the relationship between the lead characters wasn’t convincing. You always felt someone was playing someone (as with the scheming theme of the movie) and didn’t believe the love was real. And when it ended you weren’t surprised. So three years later, when seeing her throws him off his game, you’re thinking “But why?”

Nevertheless, this was a great watch and didn’t drag on for too long. The surprises and scams are gripping and opens your eyes to a world of crime you are aware of but didn’t really know.  Hello paranoia! I’ll definitely be holding on to my purse tighter next time I’m out and about.

Side note: Margot Robbie is stunning in this movie and made me feel insecure about myself!!! Ulgh perfection!!!

♡, Sana xx