Thursday, 3 October 2013

Cinder...

When I first heard of Cinder, I remember it being described as a modern day retelling of Cinderella. I was skeptical and didn't think I would ever pick up. Reading the decription, you'll soon find out that the story revolves around a cyborg who goes by the name of Cinder. She live with her stepmother and two stepsisters reflecting the traditional Cinderella story. I was rather intrigued by how this concept can be applied to the old fairytale, and alas under the weak strength of my willpower, I bought it. Finishing the last page, I realised that the similarities between the original and the retelling just about stops there, which is a good thing.

The story is set in New Beijing in times ahead of us. There, cyborg are detested and treated as second class. Everytime the word Cyborg is mentioned, my mind instantly wanders to Cyborg from the cartoon Teen Titans, big, bulky and rough. This made it hard to conjure the image the author meant for Cinder. Their world is one which is quite different from ours and discovering the nooks and crannies of it was interesting in itself.

Cinder as  person is super cool as we,l as an amazing mechanic. She earns her living fixing gadgets in a dingy and dodgy shop in the market place. Given her reputation as one fof the best, the Prince of New Beijing out of options and in desperation seeks her help in fixing he's android. Thus is the start to all things interesting and twisted in the life of Cinder as she gets dangerously entangled in the web of the Prince's world.

Upon reading the last words of the book, I was eager to get my hands on the next book in the series. Unfortunately, the word broke is super relevant to me at the moment. Marissa Meyer did a great job creating this world as well as the characters. Cinder sounds like someone I would go on a rocket ship adventure, not to mention her computer fixing skills which would match my technological breakdown-proned self.

This book is only the beginning of what is to be an exciting adventure. It is quite different from the pool of other Young adult books out there. Cinder is an unusual heroine given her circumstance and her strong character as she navigate her way through the maze of life.

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Would I recommend this book?
Yes 
How much do I rate this?
4.5/5
Would I read other works by this author?
Hell yea the rest of the books in the series!

Wednesday, 2 October 2013

The Internship

If you've been reading my blog recently, you would have realised that I was an intern. This would be obvious given my series of blog post all starting with the title "Intern Diaries...". I swear I did not choose to watch this movie, but me being an intern and us (cousin, sister and I) watching this movie may have some serious positive correlation. My cousin and sister like to bully me for being the intern.

This movie is about two grown man played by Vince Vaughn and Owen Wilson who are salesmen. They're great at what they do, but their company is lagging behind modern times and is shut down, leaving them both unemployed. Down in the rut and all, they apply for a google internship and amazingly defy the odds and get through the interview phase to be interns for the summer. 

I didn't really have much expectations for this movie, I rarely do anymore afraid of the disappointment I'll have afterwards. Right from the start, Vince and Owen portray the kind of characters they always do. Vince the smart talking guy who convinces anyone about anything he wants to and Owen the go with the flow easy living blonde surfer dude except less surfer and a little bit more urban this time.
Both are super out of touch with anything to do with technology and the internet. 

They start their internship without a clue in their thick headed skull and find  themselves within a pool of teen IT geniuses, setting the stage for this funny movie. There were scenes in this movie that were golden, the kind that you would have sudden flash backs and unwillingly let out a laugh while sitting in the bus. There were also lines that you would throw back and forth with friends because it made you laugh till your stomach hurts. There were also things I didn't like very much about the movie. Vince and Owen talked too damn much at times. Understandably, they're salesmen and that's what they do, but my line was crossed a couple of times and I wanted to reach out into the screen and knock their coconut heads together just to get them to shut up.

Coming out of the theatre, we were still talking about the movie and laughing about the funny scenes. Having had a few options before choosing a movie to watch, we certainly made the right choice. I really enjoyed the movie and got more that I expected from it. The Internship is definitely a great movie to watch on a Friday night be it with friends or even family (parents included, though they might scratch their heads in confusion over what Instagram is, much like Vince and Owen's characters).

Would I recommend it?
YES
How much do I rate it?
6/10
Would I watch it again?
No

ps the last scene ;)

Thanks for reading!