Reign Over My Heart

Great I've gone and done it again! I've fallen into the trap of yet another series, I have been sucked in and honestly I don't see an escape any time soon. And I don't want it! I don't need saving I'm glad to be trapped I'm glad that I have yet another set of characters to fantasize and rant about and fall in love with. What is this show that has gotten me so hyped up, that my friends is the weird yet oddly beautiful "Reign", a series depicting the life of "Mary Queen of Scots" from the very beginning when she was only 15 years old, and was in those good Ol' days at a suitable age to marry, Of course because she's a Queen and almost every marriage during those times was political and arranged ever since those poor little royals were 6!
Anyways, lets not get to carried away talking about political correctness and what's right and wrong here. Because although the situation was just wrong, how they're acting it out and have managed to turn the story into something more modern and appealing to most of the young people these days is definitely Right! I'am a huge fan of period dramas, of any era really. I simply love their stories, their characters, their dialogue, their freaking costumes! I love the whole thing. At first, I was reluctant to watch this show because I had read a couple of things about it that didn't make it seem so interesting to me personally. Alas! this just shows that you shouldn't judge anything based on other peoples opinions, only your own. So because of the lovely addiction that is Tumblr, I saw a Gif from one of the episodes and I became intrigued (ahh Tumblr always bringing me closer to fictional characters) So two days ago I started watching, so far there are only 7 episodes out and yes I have finished watching them ALL! And now I'm going through the waiting and anticipating symptoms that most of the fan base are going through. it's not good, it's not healthy and I Luuuuuuuve it!
You know at first I found it peculiar to be watching a period drama with modern music playing in the background. However, that doesn't mean it didn't grow on me, mainly because the music is the genre that I like, and I'm a huge fan of  weird and peculiar. The theme song is performed by "The Lumineers", most of the music featured on the show is off their album, and in an odd way it's very fitting.
The plot is quite simple, boy and girl are arranged to be married for security of countries, boy doesn't really love girl at first, girl is of course in love with boy, then slowly boy begins to realize this girl is kinda awesome and falls for her. You've also got your other elements which add to the thickness of the plot, Strong authoritative father, vicious over-protective mother, group of friends to help you make decisions (even if they're clueless, most of the time!) and the always tolerable bastard brother (I'm not cursing him he's literally the King's bastard, and he's also one of my favorite characters, with those piercing laser eyes!)
And there you have it, don't be too quick to judge this show from the outside images you see, like I did, for real, when I first saw the poster for this series I was like "Hmmm the leads don't look so appealing to me, I don't think I'd like them.' LOOL funny me thinking I could ever evade such an awesome show, even though my first opinion of it was quite pessimistic. I practically raced through the first seven episodes and now I can't wait for more! I absolutely Love all the lead characters. I guess that's what happens when the actors are brilliant, giving their all to make their character realistic and lovable in every aspect, even if they're portraying someone meant to be the source of all evil. That's just good acting for ya!
So if you're interested in modernized versions of period dramas then this is the show for you. It's too early to tell how far into Mary's story we're gonna see. so far we're getting a cute version of it, with absolutely beautiful outfits, beautiful music, beautiful people, and a mix of stolen glances and adorable moments between our two young lovers. I don't mind honestly, yes maybe most of the way things are being depicted is a little incorrect, and wouldn't have happened like this during those medieval times, but let's be honest this way is more fun, more exciting and fascinating for us delicate Hearted people who just love and crave these stories of innocence and love and hardships, and we'll take it any way you want to give it to us!

What Maisie Knew- Heartbreaking at Times, yet Delightful in the End

What Maisie knew tells the story of a 7 year old girl stuck in the middle of a very bitter and ugly custody battle. The whole movie is mainly seen through the eyes of the little girl "Maisie" played by "Onata Aprile", who was simply amazing in this performance, she doesn't say much, but she really doesn't have to her face does all the talking! She conveys all her emotions with a simple look, her eyes are very expressive and that's really what catches your attention. The way she simply looks upon her mother (played by Julianne Moore), who was just remarkably great at being horrible, when she asks her a question that you obviously shouldn't be asking a 7 year old!! Or when her father is trying to explain why he has to leave without taking her with him, she absorbs all that information in and responds with a simple look or nod, which her parents always took as a sign that she understands and is ok with whatever horrible decision they are making. You definitely feel for the little girl , she's going through one of the most dreadful things possible, a divorce, and from the beginning we can see that her parents aren't really meant to be parents. Her mother is an aging rockstar who can't face the fact that she isn't as successful as she used to be, and her dad is an art dealer always traveling from one place to another, they are simply not responsible and are obviously the kind of people who are never gonna change they're lifestyle to accommodate the fact that they have a child now! A child who requires attention and love, not in the form of gifts, as they seem to believe. So of course there has to be some good in this poor girls life, its not all sadness, and that is when we are introduced to the delightful characters of "Margo" the nanny played by the very cute "Joanna Vanderham" and "Lincoln" the bartender/Stepdad (her mother's boy toy) played by the adorable "Alexander Skarsgard" these two at first are simply the parents way of having someone to look after their daughter when they couldn't, which was really most of the time, and along the way Maisie finds herself accepting them as her caretakers because they give her what a child at that age really needs love, caring, and most importantly selflessness. They didn't ask to become parents to a child that is not their own, but they couldn't ignore what was happening in front of them to that little girl, it just wasn't right. Maisie develops such a wonderful relationship with both these characters the one with Margo is already there from the beginning because she's been her nanny for a while and she understands her completely, but with Lincoln it took some time for her to get used to him, and I gotta say watching Alexander Sakrsgard being all cute and adorable with that child was the cutest thing ever. Their scenes together really were some of the best in the movie, he comes into this girls life unexpected and slowly becomes a permanent fixture, she finds herself depending on him to always be there for her mainly because the poor girl never experienced what a "normal" 7 year old child's relationship with their parents should be. Like I said the whole movie is seen from Maisie's perspective, and I think it was really nice and different to see how a child that is going through something as awful as a divorce, observes and understands the little things she witnesses, and how they help her act and grow along the way. It's not easy for a child no matter how old they are to go through something like that, and this story shows it, but it also shows that sometimes you find your family in the most unexpected way. You get what you can from the situation you're in and Maisie does exactly that, she is young and some may think not mature enough to understand and perceive the situation she's in, but I think she knows exactly what's going on and she finds her way through it all because of the kindness and caring she is shown by her nanny and a complete stranger.
If you're into contemporary movies then you'll like this, the acting, the setting, and even  the lack of dialogue most of the time really help make this a heartbreakingly cute story. Absolutely Loved it!!
  
And just to prove just how cute Alexander and Onata were, I present  EXHIBIT 1!! Enjoy!