OPEN-MINDED

“Before you embark on a journey of revenge, dig two graves.” - Confucius

And with that my newest TV show guilty pleasure started. When that line prompted at the beginning of the pilot episode I knew I was gonna get hooked and I remember saying to myself: “This is going to be good.” And before I ramble further, how ‘bout that poster huh? I have such a liking for the dramatic so I especially enjoyed this promo photo. The mischievous half-smile coming from that pretty, innocent face of hers and then those thorns sticking out of her dress like she’s ready for battle. Love. it.

So basically the story is young girl lost her father to a crime he didn’t commit. So now all grown up, she’s back with a vengeance. And who is she up against you say? Well none other than the elite and the powerful. That’s what makes it exciting and oh so scandalous. What can I say, I guess we all have that dark side. Don’t you just love it when one by one she’s bringing her enemies down? And she’s got them all in the palm of her hand but don’t worry she doesn’t go as far as killing them but trust me what she does is a whole lot worse.

The show features mostly unknown actors to me but it didn’t take away at all from it. I am familiar with Emily VanCamp having watched the family drama Brothers & Sisters (a personal favorite of mine). Her character Emily Thorne or Amanda Clarke is a tricky one to play. She has to be tough and seem cold to carry out her plans and for a protagonist you’ll either like her or you don’t. But I guess once you know the backstory you’ll root for her. The other star of the show or scene-stealer if I may say, is Madeleine Stowe playing the Queen of the Hamptons, Victoria Grayson. If pure evil takes form, it’s gotta be her. Not to mention the rest of the empire: Conrad - the man responsible for it all, Charlotte - the rebellious daughter and, Daniel - the heir. Special mention to Josh Bowman who plays him (Read: He’s effin’ hot). To add spice, you have Nolan Ross - Emily’s ally and Jack Porter - the childhood sweetheart. You may recognize Declan Porter, the brother. I realized I don’t know his name, I just know he also plays Serena’s gay brother in Gossip Girl.

I read that the show did really well in the US and that ABC has picked it up for another season and more so, aimed to sit in the previously held time slot by Desperate Housewives. Revenge is a sexy and campy drama series that’s sure to leave you satisfied with every episode and yet craving for more. Full of suspense and surprises in every turn, it’s a ride that you wish would not end.

Two movies I saw recently that I absolutely loved. Here’s a back to back look on both films. Enjoy!

One Day was an interesting watch for me. I loved its simplicity and the story is out of the ordinary. Let’s set aside first that i-don’t-understand-why-she-had-to-die-tragically ending and you have a tale seldom portrayed in the media: that of a man and a woman as best friends. Of course in this film the term “best friend” evolves into a romantic status but really, it’s what best describes their relationship. Yup, even better than soulmates. I was fascinated by how these two people, Dexter and Emma, had the emotional connection and yet didn’t get involved until after several failed relationships and even a divorce. Maybe it was Emma’s odd ways and naïve demeanor but after the initial sex hold up they decided to be each other’s confidant. And true enough, that’s what happened. It was certainly an unusual arrangement. Dexter goes on dating girls, living the privileged life and Emma focused on her career but is always there to support him and silently loving him. It’s wonderful at the same time frustrating to see how the 2 characters grow and make wrong decisions as you see their state every July 15 for 20 years. Anne Hathaway always delivers; it’s not even a question anymore if she’s in it you got to watch it. She’s an actress you’ll love not only for her persona but for her body of work. Jim Sturgess was, can I just say, so charming and is one fine English lad! (haha) I didn’t mind all the nakedness going on. Well, his role is supposed to be that way but you believe him in every scene and feel his pain. The ending of course left a big “WHY?!” on my forehead. I didn’t get it – I still don’t. But life’s not fair yada yada yada and all that shit. So I guess you just have to accept that’s what happened. My only wish is that at least they could’ve had a child together so he wouldn’t be so alone. His daughter with his ex-wife somehow doesn’t suffice. Anyways, leaving the theatre your heart feels heavy but more importantly you also feel hope that may be there is someone out there for you. The film is directed by Lone Scherfig (An Education) and is actually based on a novel of the same name.

Crazy Stupid Love is just that but in a good way. It makes you question love but all the while reinforces your belief in it. It’s everything a romantic comedy should be: smart, witty, outrageous and loveable. I can’t run out of words to describe it! It was sweet, endearing, heartbreaking, sad but ultimately it makes you feel good. Come on, how can you go wrong with Steve Carrell? I honestly think, IMHO, he’s the funniest out there. I’m in love with Emma Stone! She is “IT” – whatever that means. I can’t wait to see her on The Amazing Spider-man. Going back, Ryan Gosling reminded me of his portrayal in The Notebook in the sense that you root for him and it didn’t hurt that he was hot as hell in the movie. The scenes between him and Carrell were funny and how the roles switched towards the end was comical. I appreciated how directors Glenn Ficarra and John Requa depicted different types of love. There’s the first love, the forbidden love, the love lost only to be found again and the love that changes everything. The major twist caught me off guard! How all these people were interconnected was a shock. And the supporting cast is not to be taken lightly. You have Kevin Bacon, Julianne Moore and Marisa Tomei even Analeigh Tipton (the nanny) and Jonah Bobo (the son) requires a special mention. I loved the movie and I think everyone else did too.

And when I say “in search of” I really mean “I don’t know what is”. Reading ‘The Alchemist’ enlightened me but didn’t necessarily bring me out the dark. This novel gave me answers but more importantly it left me with questions too. Now this “treasure” that I’m supposed to follow, Paulo Coelho said, should come to you early on life. But what if it doesn’t? Or maybe you didn’t realize that that was destiny giving you a heads up. “Maktub” as said in the book – it is written but not everyone possesses an Urim and Thummim to help them along the way. Or do they? How does one read omens, more so, interpret them? I want to believe that “When you want something, all the universe conspires in helping you to achieve it.” But what if you want the wrong things? It’s all so inspiring and seems simple but of course like anything in life, it’s not. I may be deemed cynical for this but I do believe there is such a thing as a purpose in life, a personal legend. The problem is, I’m already turning 25 this year and yet I know I’m nowhere near figuring out what mine is let alone actually fulfilling it. Did I really miss the signs? Or was I just not looking hard enough? I’m as clueless as ever. Maybe the omens got tired already. Moving on, what I’m taking away from all of this is the four obstacles Coelho talked about. I agree with all of them and learning them now makes you feel prepared for battle, if you know what I mean. Here are the four:

As a child, we are told that everything we want to do is impossible. Some people call it being rational and it affects our mindset. This is true especially as we grow older and reality sets in. The innocence is lost and we discover that life is not fair.

We are afraid to hurt the ones we love by pursuing our personal legend. I understood when Coelho said that “If what one finds is made of pure matter, it will never spoil. And one can always come back. If what you have found was only a moment of life, like the explosion of a star, you would find nothing on your return.” It’s like your true love will be there to support you not hinder you.

The fear of failure, in my humble opinion, is the hardest obstacle. Because we gave up everything to follow our dream we can’t fathom the idea of losing. And this fear is the greatest; it’s do or die. The difficulties and trials will always be there so we must persevere.

Lastly, there is the fear of realizing the dream. Ironic but true. Some people, after working so hard, do falter once they discover that the goal is close at hand whether because they feel unworthy or that somehow that the dream would not be what they thought it would be. Sometimes just because others weren’t able to fulfill theirs, we feel undeserving as well.

Two statements from the story also stuck with me: “Everything that happens once can never happen again. But everything that happens twice will surely happen a third time.”

And, “The secret of life is to fall seven times and to get up eight times.”