Snow White and the Huntsman Review

A long time ago, I watched this movie and found several unbelieveably accurate comments about it. I copied them into my Google+ account, but thought it is wiser to put them down in the blog. Enjoy.

1. "I just want to rip off his muddy and sweaty cloak and.. YOU KNOW. when he swings that axe I’m just like UNF UNF UNF the whole time. and when all the bad guys try to come at him i was like screaming “YOU’RE NO MATCH FOR THE MIGHTY THOR!” he kicked ass and was just sexy as hell. too bad there was only one semi-shirtless scene. but i definitely enjoyed every second of it."
2. "But hey, I got to spend a couple of hours looking at the beautiful faces of Chris Hemsworth and Charlize Theron, so… Also, Fucking A. Chris Hemsworth’s voice. Fuck me. He was doing this strange, almost Scottish, English accent, but whatever it was holy shit."
3. "Chris Hemsworth, cute dwarfs very lovable, Chris Hemsworth, awesome graphics, Chris Hemsworth. Did I mention Chris Hemsworth?
4. Cons: This fucking movie leaves you with many questions. Who does she marry? ... Did Kirsten Stewart enjoy her small intimate moment with kissing Chris fucking Hemsworth? The “Wicked Witch”, I feel as if she could have done SO much more with her character. Why doesn’t her powers work in the Dark Forest? THE FUCKING ENDING.
5. Also, I have to say. ... I HATE WILLIAM<3SNOW WHITE. I FUCKING HATE IT AND WANTED TO VOMIT WHEN HE KISSED HER. ...
6. Overall this movie was worth seeing I think, and I sobbed because of the Huntsman’s story. Not just because it was Chris Hemsworth I promise."

Suddenly: sherlocked

Mir wurde immer wieder geraten, endlich mal die Sherlock Serie mit Cumberbatch und Freeman anzuschauen, weil ich das immer irgendwie umgangen hab. Vorallem aber fand ich, dass die beiden Schauspieler doch nie in die Rollen von Sherlock und John passen würden. Ich bereue es, das je gesagt oder auch nur gedacht zu haben, denn ich wurde eines besseren belehrt. Nachdem ich die ersten zwei Episode geschaut hab, konnte ich nicht mehr aufhören. Es zwar schlichtweg zu spannend, und ihr wisst ja, wie das mit Serien so ist. Ich hab dann angefangen, mich mehr auf die Figur von Sherlock zu fokussieren. Wie er dargestellt, gespielt, verkörpert, charakterisiert wird... Wie er als fiktiver Charakter tickt, denkt, sich verhält... habe ihn genaustens analysiert. Ich hab angefangen, über seinen schwarzen langen Mantel mit Stehkragen nachzudenken, seinen Schal, deinen Körperbau, seine Wangenknochen (Cumberbatch's Wangen sind ein Fall für sich), seine Augen, seine Stimme (im Original natürlich). Seine Art zu denken und zu sprechen. Wie er die Menschen nur als niedere Lebewesen betrachtet, aber trotzdem sich sein ganzes Leben nur um andere Menschen dreht. Wie er ständig davon redet, gefühlskalt und herzlos zu sein, aber trotzdem oft emotional wird und sogar weint (Frage ist: wann sind die Tränen echt und wann nur erzwungen?). Seine Gleichgültigkeit und Erhabenheit gegenüber allem banalen und trivialen Dingen. Seine Unabhängigkeit, sein Stolz, seine undurchsichtige aber direkte Art. Das hab ich alles studiert. Einfach alles. Sowas ist gefährlich. Denn spätestens in der Szene (achtung Spoiler!), als Sherlock durch die Fensterscheibe gesprungen kommt, seinen Mantel schüttelt und sich durch die lockigen Haare wuschelt - spätestens da war ich (mal wieder) in einen fiktiven Mann verliebt. Über mein neues Handy-Hintergrundbild und mein Facebook-Titelbild musste ich mir natürlich einige dumme Sprüche anhören, u.a. auch wie man so einen "hässlichen" Schauspieler gut finden kann. Wirklich niemand aus meinem engeren Freundschafts- und Verwandtenkreis schien es gutzuheissen, bis auf Juniper und Xenia. Juniper hat mich schliesslich aufgemuntert und alles mit ein paar wenigen Sätzen auf den Punkt gebracht. Ich hätte Freudentränen weinen können, so akkurat ist es. Wer das liest und einigermassen versteht - der versteht mich.

Sherlock/Cumberbatch ist ein sakrales Ideal in einer Welt in der jede Erwartung gedämpft wird durch die schnöde Wirklichkeit unvollkommener Wesen. Er ist die strahlende Galeonsfigur aller Mädchen, die sich an dem Ideal festhalten, das er fiktive Verstand von Sherlock Holmes für uns darstellt. Unverdorbenen Scharfsinn, der sich von männlichen Trieben nicht ablenken lässt. Eine klare Ausstellung von Prioritäten, wie sie von jedem zu erwarten wäre, die jedoch niemand so setzen würde ausser Sherlock Holmes! All dies ist gehüllt in jene geheimnissvolle Eleganz, die pur und sexy und verdammt britisch ist. All dies verkörpert Holmes, der Mann der nicht existiert. Der Mann, der so ist, wie kein Mann jemals sein würde. Und darum ist es keineswegs verwerflich ihn zu bewundern, ihn regelrecht anzubeten, denn er ist reiner als alle Männer der Welt und jeder dieser sollte sich ein Beispiel an ihm nehmen. Er ist besser als die Realität. Punkt.

Amen.


Nachtrag:
MY GOD THIS IS SO GENIUS I HAD TO TRANSLATE IT INTO ENGLISH-

Sherlock is a sacred ideal in a world in which all expectations are being curbed by the disdainful reality of incomplete beings. He is the shining figurehead to all girls who cling to an ideal represented by Sherlock. Untainted perspicacity immune to distraction by male instincts; a clear delineation of priorities, which in fact are to be expected from everyone, but which no one would ever set up in such a way except Sherlock Holmes himself. All this wrapped in an arcane elegance which is pure and sexy and damn British. All this is embodied by Holmes, the man who does not exist. This man who has a personality like no other man will ever have. And thus, it is not at all objectionable to admire him, even worship him, for he is more pritstine than all men in the world and each of them should learn a lesson from him. He is better than reality. Period.

--

Nachtrag2: Habe gerade Season 3 Ep. 2 geguckt. Muss sagen: bisher die beste. Die ganzen Emotionen, heilige Maria. Ich muss hier mein absolutes Sherlock-Lieblingszitat verewigen. Ich MUSS.

I’m afraid, John, I can’t congratulate you. All emotions, and in particular love, stand opposed to the pure, cold reason I hold above all things. A wedding is, in my considered opinion, nothing short of a celebration of all that is false and specious and irrational and sentimental in this ailing and morally compromised world.

Conventions in Switzerland

DE: In letzter Zeit habe bei Gesprächen mit Bekannten oder beim Verfolgen von Online-Diskussionen immer wieder festgestellt, dass die verschiedenen Regionen der Schweiz kaum über Veranstaltungen der jeweils anderen Bescheid wissen, und sich untereinander innerhalb der Szene nicht wirklich austauschen. Einerseits ist das merkwürdig, andererseits aufgrund der Sprachgrenzen (sei es nun Röstigraben oder Alpenwand) auch verständlich. Auf alle Fälle ist es schade, und meiner Meinung nach besteht hier Nachholfbedarf. Daher habe ich diese Liste von allen kleineren und grösseren Events/Conventions der Schweiz zusammengestellt. Sie soll der Übersicht dienen, Licht ins Dunkel bringen und vielleicht den einen oder anderen Conventiongänger dazu motivieren, auch mal einen Fuss in neues Gefilde zu wagen. :)
~
EN: By talking to friends or following discussions on the web I had to realize again and again that the different regions of Switzerland do not really know about each other's conventions, and hardly exchange with each other inside this scene. On the one hand, this fact kind of disturbed me, but on the other hand it seems absolutely legit as well (considering the language borders, be it due to the Röstigraben or the alps or whatever). In any case it is a pity, and in my opinion this lack should be changed. For this reason I have made this list of events and conventions in Switzerland. I hope it gives people a better overview or even inspires somebody to give it a try and visit new places. :)

Swiss conventions and events about Japan, Anime & Manga, Cosplay, Fantasy, RPG 

 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

1. Deutsche Schweiz / German-speaking part

 

- JapAniManga-Night

 

• Website: http://www.japanimanga-night.ch
• Datum / date: Ende Mai / end of May (24.-25.5.)
• Ort / location: 8401 Winterthur, ZH
• Dauer / duration: 2 Tage + 1 Nacht / 2 days + 1 night
• Eintritt / entry: 55 CHF (2 Tage / 2 days)
• Vorverkauf möglich / pre-order possible: ja / yes

- Aki no Matsuri

 

• Website: http://www.akinomatsuri.ch
• Datum / date: Ende Oktober / end of October (26.10)
• Ort / location: 4800 Zofingen, AG
• Dauer / duration: 1 Tag / 1 day
• Einritt / entry: 20 CHF
• Vorverkauf möglich / pre-order possible: ja / yes

 

2. Französische Schweiz / French-speaking part

 

- Polymanga

 

• Website: http://www.polymanga.ch
• Datum / date: Mitte~Ende April / middle~end of April (18.-21.4.)
• Ort / location: 1820 Montreux, VD
• Dauer / duration: 4 Tage / 4 days
• Einritt / entry: 19 CHF (1 Tag / 1 day), 37 CHF (4 Tage / 4 days)
• Vorverkauf möglich / pre-order possible: ja / yes 

- Japan Impact

• Website: http://www.japan-impact.ch
• Datum / date: Mitte Februar / middle of February (15.-16.2.)
• Ort / location: 1015 Lausanne, VD
• Dauer / duration: 2 Tage / 2 days
• Einritt / entry: 15 CHF (Erwachsene / adults), 12 CHF (unter 18 / below 18), 0 CHF (unter 7 / below 7)
• Vorverkauf möglich / pre-order possible: ja / yes

- Destination Tokyo

 

• Website: http://www.de-to.ch
• Datum / date: Anfang November / beginning of November (2.-5.11.)
• Ort / location: 1950 Sion, VS
• Dauer / duration: 2 Tage / 2 days
• Einritt / entry: 12 CHF (Erwachsene / adults), 10 CHF (Kinder und Studenten / children and students), 0 CHF (unter 6 / below 6), 25 CHF (Familien / family)
• Vorverkauf möglich / pre-order possible: ja / yes 

- Swiss Fantasy Show

 

• Website: http://www.swissfantasyshow.ch
• Datum / date: Mitte Oktober / middle of October (11.-12.10.)
• Ort / location: 1110 Morges, VD
• Dauer / duration: 2 Tage / 2 days
• Einritt / entry: 10 CHF (Erwachsene / adults), 8 CHF (unter 16 / below 16), 0 CHF (unter 10 / below 10)
• Vorverkauf möglich / pre-order possible: nein / no

 

3. Italienische Schweiz / Italian-speaking part

- Japan Matsuri

 

• Website: http://www.japanmatsuri.org
• Datum / date: Anfang April / beginning of April (5.-6.4.)
• Ort / location: 6500 Bellinzona, TI
• Dauer / duration: 2 Tage / 2 days
• Einritt / entry: 8 CHF (Erwachsene / adults), 4 CHF (Kinder / children); 12 CHF (2-Tageskarte Erwachsene / 2-day ticket adults), 6 CHF (2-Tageskarte Kinder / 2-day ticket children)
• Vorverkauf möglich / pre-order possible: nein / no

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

In chronologischer Reihenfolge / in chronological order:

1. JAPAN IMPACT - - Februar
2. JAPAN MATSURI - - April
3. POLYMANGA - - April
4. JAPANIMANGA-NIGHT - - Mai 
5. SWISS FANTASY SHOW - - Oktober
6. AKI NO MATSURI - - Oktober
7. DESTINATION TOKYO - - November

Auf der Karte / on the map:

 

Cosplay: Joan of Arc (Bladestorm - The 100 Years War)

About the character
Name: Joan of Arc (Jeanne d'Arc)
Appears in: Bladestorm - The 100 Years war; Warriors Orochi 3, Bladestorm - Nightmare
Category: Videogame

About the costume
Finished: 23.5.2014
First worn: 24.5.14 at JapAniManga-Night (CH)
Wiki entry: [Link]



I especially love this character not only because I admire female knights in general, but because Joan of Arc is also a historical person I'm highly interested in. Already as a child I've loved the stories of Joan and her military effort, strength, courage, power of will, and how she always followed her belief until the end. Her death was tragic and unjust (she died as a martyr at the stake), and I still can't really understand how it took the church 500 years to saint her...
Joan is the main character in the videogame Bladestorm: The 100 Years War, but she is also a playable character in Warriors Orochi 3. I immediately fell in love with her appearance and character, and I wondered why she gained hardly any attention... I had already bought 3 XL sheets of Worbla which were originally intended for a Uriel (Darksiders) cosplay, but then I decided to cancel this plan and make Joan's armor instead.


The costume 

For the whole armor I needed about 1 XL Worbla sheet, as well as some white and blue fabric, silvery and golden paint, and that was it - more or less. Thus, regarding the level of complexity, Joan's armor was rather easy to make. However, it was my first time working with Worbla...! I didn't know how flexible this material will be, how heavy, what the surface will be like, how to make the single pieces fit/join, etc. etc... so there was a lot of experimenting, try & error, creating and recreating. I was quite astonished how quickly the armor building progressed compared to the papermaché technique (which is extremely time-consuming). My aim was to build some parts of the armor in such a way that they function similar to a real knight's armor or that they are practical (to wear, put on/off, and transport). For example, the shoes are covered two distinct Worbla parts which can be (dis-)assembled via push-buttons and velcro strips. I made a video to show you how I solved that (see below^^) Also, the armor covering the knee has some sort of joints which keeps it free to move. The knee part is jointed with the upper leg part with an extra middle part in between, so when I bend my knees the everything will move with it, just like a medieval armor.

The costume was quite fun to create since I had nice little helpers now and then :) (I'm used to making everything alone down in the cellar *foreveralone*) My sister helped me make the white tunic Joan wears below the armor. It's not a particularily difficult thing to do, but when it comes to savvy or sense of proportion, I can be such a jerk, haha! My sister's boyfriend helped me a lot as well. Without him, the lance/flag would never have been realized. So he popped around some day with his auger and ta-daa, I had two wooden sticks which I can easily put together and apart (same for Hilde's spear, btw!).

It may not look this way, but Joan's costume has a lot of hidden details which were quite tricky to make. For example: the leather straps on the legs, the small belt-buckles, or the back of the armor. These details, but also the pennant, were extremely time-consuming. I even planned to finish it for the Polymanga in April, but I just didn't make it because of all this time I had lost... But apart from that, it was a fun process - tried out new techniques and materials, such as threaded bars, press-studs, or brass fasteners. Everything goes together with velcro strips, and when I put on the costume for the first time, it was rather irritating because there are all those loud rustling noises coming from the velcro... x'D

 I am quite happy with the costume considering it was my first made with Worbla. I'm rather proud on how the pennant turned out, and I also like the golden ornaments everywhere on the armor. However, I guess it's obvious which parts were made with more patience and time investment and which ones are just botched due to lack of time (*cough* shoulders * cough* waist). The shape of the armor pieces are okay, but sometimes I didn't manage to get a smooth surface. Especially the corslet's surface is too craggy, even though I covered it into all these layers of putty, wood glue, and paint... at times I found it very difficult to heat up Worbla without getting blisters all over it... but probably that's something I just have to practice more :( The vambraces were the very first Worbla pieces I've ever made, so they turned out quite crappy as well - too tight, uncomfortable, not the right shape etc. I had always been scared of building the corslet, but in hindsight, the shoulders were way more difficult, and I'm not quite happy with them to be honest.

Now, to answer some frequently asked questions:
- Not everything is made of Worbla, some smaller parts are made of craft foam
- Ornaments are made of modelling clay, Worbla leftovers, and window colors
- The gloves are not handmade, they are bought and then painted brown (they're the same gloves I used for Hilde)
- The whole armor making process lasted 1 month, but the "trouble-shooting" and the details took me some 1-2 more weeks
- Yes, I can move and walk rather easily in the costume. But it's impossible to sit, kneel, or bend over! >.<
- The lily on the flag is painted, not sewn


On the stage

I wore Joan's costume the first time at the JapAniManga-Night 2014, a convention in Switzerland and participated in the cosplay contest. I carried all my stuff in my car and I needed the help of a buddy to put everything on, the process lasted almost an hour... There are always some difficulties, e.g. the upper leg armor didn't stay in place and was sliding down a little with every step I took, so they were attached with fixing pins - which was not a very beautiful solution. When it was finally the moment to go on the stage I realized that I didn't consider everything when I was making the costume: I forgot there could be stairs. And of course there were stairs. When I climbed up, one of the velcroes on my upper leg armor snapped. The back of the armor was now basically floating in midair, with it's ugly orange-colored side out. I called one of the organizer for help, but he was too busy and he didn't manage to close the velcro, so I just had to do it like this. It was not bad, most of the people didn't see this orange thing hanging there, but the front rows must have seen it, including the judges, and I was afraid the whole leg armor could just slide down to the floor. Fortunately, nothing happened, and the people actually liked my performance. I admit, it was highly improvised. It is difficult to move swiftly in the costume, so the movements looked quite clumsy.
 I also wanted to include some "real" historical parts in the skit, so I decided to add flames in the video, and use the pennant as a pyre staff (or something like that) behind my back at the end of the skit. If you want to see what my performance looked like, click here for a YouTube video. Beware: low recording quality and as I said, I am not happy with what I did there on the stage, it was more improvised than anything else, haha...

Overall, I can say it was rather exhausting to be on stage. I have already been on stage at a contest in Destination Tokyo in 2013, but even if the convention was smaller, it was better organized and we had changing rooms. After my performance as Joan, I was dead tired and starving (I had slept only 2-3 hours the night before and no breakfast or anything since then... plus it was 25+ degrees or something). So I just wanted to undress and get out of this bulky armor. We took a few photos (thank you Neo) and that was it. After the first time wearing the costume, several parts broke or fell apart. The spur on one shoe is gone forever, the other spur lost a couple of spikes. The vambraces need new velcro strips and so do the shoes. At some points on the armor, the paint is "threadbare"... stuff like that. I am thinking of wearing it again in a convention in autumn, when it's not so hot anymore, and when I have fixed all the broken parts. It would also be nice to have a photoshooting and take some photos with an accurate background, and when I don't look so tired and have better make-up etc... ^^



P.S. some background info - the flower that Joan wears in her hair and also appears on the flag is a lily. Lilies symbolized purity and innocence in christendom. Joan's historical coat of arms includes two lilies as well .



Photo shoot

Neo from Neo Photographie already took some photos at the JAN. Some months later I and Gil Schneeberger decided to have another one shoot, this time with a fitting background and a bit more time. And this time with a wig that actually fits and looked the way I expected it to! ^^ The temperatures were freezing, nevertheless it was much fun and laughter. Everyone was so kind and helped me when my armor pieces did strange things again... *sigh* still some broken parts that need to be fixed....
Some days later, the official Facebook-page of KOEI Europe actually posted one of the photos ! I was amazed o_O At this point of time, the next volume of Bladestorm is announced: Nightmare! I am really looking forward to playing this game!

Movie-Watchlist: Semesterferien

Endlich wieder mal entspannt Filme schauen! Bis das neue Semester anfängt, stehen folgende auf der Liste.

EDIT: Semesterferien my ass, die Liste gilt für das gesamte halbe Jahr !

Bereits gesehen

• Picture of Dorian Gray
• Epic (Das verborgene Königreich)
• Despicable Me
• Despicable Me 2
• Legend of the Guardians (Hüter des Lichts)
• Anna Karenina
• The Hobbit - Desolation of Smaug
• The Great Gatsby
• Frozen (Die Eiskönigin)
• Wreck it Ralph
• Wolkig mit Aussicht auf Fleischbällchen
• Wolkig mit Aussicht auf Fleischbällchen 2
• Hotel Transylvania 
• The Artist
• 47 Ronin
• The Little Mermaid [Disney-Klassiker, den ich als Kind irgendwie nie richtig geschaut hab :O ]
• The Rescuers - Down Under [weil's so ewig her ist]
• 300 - Rise of an Empire 
• The curious case of Benjamin Button

Geplant:

• Dungeons & Dragons 
• Tron
• The Hunger Games
• Up (Oben)
• Black Swan
• Iron Man 1 & 2
• Captain America - Winter Soldier