The Call

Hey guys! For the latest edition to the film reviews, I'm going to be looking at the latest release The Call, starring Halle Berry.

(source: YouTube)

This recent release looks at how 911 operators have to deal with some of the worst crimes and the impact it has on them as well as the victims. One operator, Jordan (Halle Berry) has to deal with a case which change her life and career completely. After connecting to an emergency call, she finds herself dealing with a terrified young girl who is trapped in her own house when someone is trying to break in. While on the phone to 911, the girl finds herself petrified and results in hiding in order to not be seen or found by the intruder. Just as they're about to leave, the phone gets disconnected and, in a frantic state, the operator calls back to check all is okay. However, this was a fatal error. After hearing the phone ring, the intruder returns upstairs and drags the girl out to her death with the operator with no one to blame but herself for making such an error.

 

(source: trailers.apple.com)

Six months later, Jordan finds herself teaching those who want to do work in the 911 'hive' and has to teach them the ropes of the job. When passing one operator who is frantically trying to calm someone down, she finds herself taking over and trying to help the case. Little does she realise, she is about to have a flood of memories overwhelm her as she finds herself dealing with another terrified girl on the phone. Rather than a house call, this victim finds themselves locked in her kidnapper's car. Can she save her?

(source: www.craveonline.com)

Now, I have never been so gripped throughout a film until I saw this.The Call has to be one of the best suspense builders and chilling thrillers of 2013. I had moments of fear, sadness and all round curiosity throughout. Would she save her? Would another girl die? If she did save her, how would she do it? This film really got me thinking though. How can people in this world be so messed up and damaged that they can go out and about and hurt of kill others? Watching the film really opened my mind up to how psychopaths and incredibly damaged people can so easily live a double life. So easy to hide from others, yet, be so destructive on themselves and their victims.

 

(source: YouTube)

The majority of serial killers and psychopaths has something severely wrong with them. They had a damaged past, they saw or suffered something which has scarred them for life, some trauma they may have witnessed.. So many different things can cause a person to feel they have no way out but to ruin the lives of others instead and not always in the most pleasant ways. Take this film, for example. The psychopath in this film kidnaps his victims for a reason (I won't spoil it for you all!) and then kills his victims because of something in his past and can easily hide it from his wife. How can anyone do that?

I know some people say, in anger of course (I hope), that they could easily kill someone. But, when it comes down to the reality, could you actually kill someone? Could you hide it and act completely normal? How people can do it, I'll never know.

'You must have perfect skin to be beautiful...'

Hey guys! For today's society dictates, I'm going to look at how skin defines someone as 'beautiful'. Now, skin is a big personal issue of mine and I'm pretty sure plenty of girls, and guys, share the same problem as me!

 
(source: http://www.tumblr.com)

Has to be said, this is one of the biggest issues teenagers have to face on a day to day basis. The majority of teenagers have some form of issue with their skins, be it: eczema, acne, outbreaks etc. It does bring a major downer on your day and can really damage your self-esteem as your body image, for you, is shattered. This, added with negative comments and snide remarks, can really crush someone's confidence and, chances are, it's not even their fault they have problems with their skin. I can vouch for this...

I have eczema. You might not be able to tell if you actually look at my skin now, but if you go back 5-6 years, you would see a different story. As a child, I always had mild eczema like most children. However, when I was 14, I used a spot cream which was designed to be put directly on spots and basically put a layer all over my face which burnt my face as the cream was incredibly concentrated and acidic. After the inflammation went down, I went to the nurse as I still had flaky skin so she gave me some E45 cream which I majorly reacted to and my skin on my face swelled up. Not what a teenage girl wants! My skin then did some form of chemical peel which was very strange and I managed to infect my skin. My arms and face used to be red underneath the skin surface and very itchy and sore. 

In school, this was the last thing I needed! I'd have people stare and comment, it was actually heartbreaking and killed my self-esteem so much. Eventually, I was prescribed with some tablet which got rid of the infection and I was just left with very dry skin. Over time, it has definitely improved and, now, it's hard to tell I have anything wrong with my skin. But, at the back of my mind, it's still as bad as it was. That will never go away. At least I have found the right products which can keep all flare ups under control!

For teenage girls, in particular, skin is a big deal! If you have bad skin, you can wear many foundations or much make up. You also get people pick up on the fact your skin is bad. Especially if one day, you wear make up and, the next, you don't wear any and it's clear why. In particular, the media promote the image that girls need flawless skin to be perfect and beautiful. Let's be honest, have you ever seen a model with acne? Have you ever seen a magazine be nice about someone who isn't wearing make up...

I'm going to use Mila Kunis as my example, possibly one of the most gorgeous women in the world. 

 
(source: http://www.tumblr.com) 

Now, her skin in the majority of her images is simply stunning. Flawless, clear, beautiful.. That's what you get when you have an amazing makeup artist! Something the rest of us can not afford, unfortunately.  Yet, the minute she get's snapped without her makeup, she gets slated big time. How is that meant to encourage young girls to go for the more natural look when celebrities get slated for it so extremely?!

 
(source: http://www.tumblr.com)

Sorry but I'm pretty sure there are more important things for the media to be publicising and criticising rather than slating and slagging off someone because they look 'rough' without makeup on. What kind of example does that set young girls?! The fact that most images of airbrushed and perfected anyway greatly impacts how reliable and truthful these images are. They're not real! Same for the images of girls with thigh gaps (for those who missed my post on thigh gaps, click here), these images are edited to promote the 'ideal figure' when, actually, it's an incredibly unhealthy lifestyle. With sites, such as tumblr and instagram, also promoting these images, no wonder there are so many negative and pressured girls out there with incredibly low self-esteem.

So, have a think next time you make a snide remark or see these images in magazines or online. How on earth do you think these people feel?! People really need to take a step back and realise they are not perfect either so they have NO right to make judgements on someone else until they've walked in their shoes.