Movie impression: Magic Mike

Yesterday I went to see the movie with a friend, mainly attracted, like many other people I guess, by the male actors (especially Joe Manganiello) and the striptease scenes. I can't deny that Channing Tatum is a handsome actor, but personally  I'm not really a fan of his, and I was also a bit worried that his character would resemble the poor guy with a difficult existence but great ambitions, who I've seen in  some  of his previous movies.  I hoped  anyway that the main character's story would be interesting, seeing that the director Steven Soderbergh has made some pretty good movies before, like Erin Brockovich and the Ocean trilogy.

For those who don't know what the movie is about, it tells the story of a 30-something year-old man, Mike, who dreams of running his own business (customized pieces of furniture), but because of the economic recession he makes a living by doing various jobs, including being a stripper in a club called Xquisite.

Despite the good premise, and the social topic, I was rather disappointed. The striptease scenes are funny and hot for sure, but after some time they get repetitive, and the movie didn't move me at all. I wasn't able to emotionally connect with Mike's character, not even towards the end, when he's obviously overpowered by the events and doesn't know which direction to take. Maybe because in the movie there are more goliardic moments than serious ones, or maybe because the scenes that should make the spectator reflect are too short and superficial.  Adam's character is one of the things that annoyed me the most. I wasn't certainly expecting  him to suddenly grow up in the last ten minutes, considering that he's only a 19 year-old boy, but overall his character is bland and forgettable. Exactly like his sister. About that...I get that the actress was playing the biased, responsible sister, but in all honesty I found her perennial pout rather unpleasant to watch.  It's not that she wasn't pretty, but her expressions made it hard for me to like her character till the very end.

Overall I would rate this movie 2,5 out of 5 (but 4 out of 5 for the fan service ;) ) Magic Mike is definitely overrated because for once it's the men who get objectified, and that's something new. I don't think that's the bad part of the movie, but the story that comes with it. It was boring.

Feel free to share your opinion about this movie, I'd love to hear other impressions :)

And please forgive my limited use of English and eventual grammar mistakes, I'm always trying to improve :D

We don't really celebrate Halloween in Italy...

 

...but my family had these cute wax pumpkins lit up on the balcony for a few nights till All Saints! These are items sold at my father's shop, where I'm currently working, and last week we dressed a whole window with big and small pumpkins, together with orange and black candles and various items. Customers really liked it and we received a lot of compliments :))  Below a not-so-horrible picture I managed to take of it :)

So, we don't officially celebrate Halloween, but we have a holiday on the 1st November. That meant a longer weekend for a lot of workers, with no work on Monday, and so I decided to invite a friend of mine over for dinner (omelettes) and a movie. My mom even thought of setting up the table with orange paper napkins for a Halloween mood ^^.

It's been such a long time since I last spent a night watching horror movies with my friends, but this one in particular unfortunately doesn't like scary movies and we only ended up chatting and watching a romantic thriller with Matt Damon, The Adjustment Bureau.

Indeed, I didn't spend an eccentric night, but I still really enjoyed myself! 

Who else loves movie nights? :D

Two more weeks until Christmas ^^

On the 8th my mother and I finally decorated the Christmas tree. It's neither a big nor a real tree, but it looks just perfect in the corner of the living room. This year's decorations are silver and white!

There's also a small crib with Thun figures.

My travel to Portugal: Oporto & Lisbon pictures

Though I would have equally loved to go to the seaside with my friends this summer, we opted for a less relaxing but surely memorable sightseeing holiday in Portugal. We spent 2 days in Oporto and 3 days in Lisbon. Both cities are fascinating, though quite different, and I was really glad to be able to eat fish everyday. The food was good and really cheap everywhere but especially in Oporto, where we could also have a taste of the famous Porto wine. During our stay in Lisbon, my friends and I also had the chance to visit the small coastal city of Cascais and see the beach.
It's definitely a holiday I would recommend, though maybe not in August, when it's way too hot to be walking around all day.

I took at least 200 pictures but most of them were unfortunately quite horrible. I seriously need to polish my photographic skills before the next journey!

Inside the Casa da Musica

Belém

Cascais

Odd weather, strange mood and a curious diet

I should probably be studying right now, but the weather is so hot (it's not even sunny!) that I can hardly get up from the sofa. I'm really sensitive to the weather throughout the whole year, and that's why I'm a bit moody. It's a family trait O_O
But there's another thing that has been bothering me lately. About a month ago I was diagnosed with an autoimmune disorder called "celiac disease", that has been spreading like crazy in the past few years. It's an intolerance to a protein (gluten) found in wheat and some other cereals, and the only cure for it is not to eat food containing that protein for the rest of my life. That means NO MORE BREAD, PIZZA, COOKIES, CAKES....... well, at least the ones I used to buy at the supermaket or at the bakery. I have to buy that stuff at the chemist's now, where they sell products specifically made without gluten. But it's hard getting used to them, 'cause the taste is quite different and variety still lacks, especially for bread. Checking your food is not really a problem when you eat at home, but when you decide to eat outside or go on a holiday, it gets complicated, because you can't always know what's inside your dish, or you need to find a restaurant that makes food for people with gluten intolerance. There aren't many around yet, but I'm hopeful since restaurateurs have slowly started to realize they need to adapt to this new situation.

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Things that make me happy today:
- my once white and now yellow painted bedroom walls :) the new colour is lovely
- my newly arranged summer holiday in Portugal with my friends (despite the fact that Lisbon is full of pastry shops and I won't be able to eat any pastries, or at least without feeling guilty!)






"Just living is not enough" said the butterfly fairy, "one must have sunshine, freedom and a little flower."
Hans Christian Andersen

Regina Spektor - On the radio

I really love her voice. It makes me shiver at times, but it's also quite relaxing.

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This is how it works
It feels a little worse
Than when we drove our hearse
Right through that screaming crowd
While laughing up a storm
Until we were just bone
Until it got so warm
That none of us could sleep
And all the styrofoam
Began to melt away
We tried to find some words
To aid in the decay
But none of them were home
Inside their catacomb
A million ancient bees
Began to sting our knees
While we were on our knees
Praying that disease
Would leave the ones we love
And never come again

On the radio
We heard November Rain
That solo's really long
But it's a pretty song
We listened to it twice
'Cause the DJ was asleep

This is how it works
You're young until you're not
You love until you don't
You try until you can't
You laugh until you cry
You cry until you laugh
And everyone must breathe
Until their dying breath

No, this is how it works
You peer inside yourself
You take the things you like
And try to love the things you took
And then you take that love you made
And stick it into some
Someone else's heart
Pumping someone else's blood
And walking arm in arm
You hope it don't get harmed
But even if it does
You'll just do it all again

And on the radio
You hear November Rain
That solo's awful long
But it's a good refrain
You listen to it twice
'Cause the DJ is asleep
On the radio
(oh oh oh)
On the radio
On the radio - uh oh
On the radio - uh oh
On the radio - uh oh
On the radio

Quotes

A fairy seed I planted, so dry and white and old, there sprang a vine enchanted, with magic flowers of gold.

~Marjorie Barrows