RIP Alan Rickman

The only reason why the series lasted, the only person who was a mystery and the only person who loved till he died, Severus Snape has been and shall always be the most complex, deep-rooted character in the Harry Potter franchise. And no one could have played his role better than Alan Rickman. You shall be remembered, always.

Inevitably

I still remember your eyes,
The way they'd glisten in the sunshine.
Your red locks dancing in the wind
As we would speak near the willow.

Everyday I think of
how it could have been different.
If only it would have been me instead,
You could have been there for your infant.

But now I'm glad that I'm almost home
And I can see you again.
My love for you is still what it always was,
And after all this time, it's even more.

Bits-n-Bites 1- McSpicy v/s Indi McSpicy

McDonald's has had a huge furore over deciding which one of the 'spicy's stay in their menus. With advertisements flashing on our tv screens, everyone wanted to get a taste of what this new burger would bring us. I was also quite inquisitive and ended up taking the challenge. I was gobsmacked and not in a good way.

Supposedly having a "cooling" spread of a minty, creamy sauce to cut back the spice, this bulldozer of hotness left my palette screaming for something more than just the residue of fire. Having burger buns with sesame seeds, toasted in added spices, plus a batter with more spices to fry your protein and a spicy sauce, just some lettuce and mint sauce to extinguish your mouth is not enough. Coming from a family who appreciates a kick of spice in their food, I thought this challenge was right up my alley. But, I needed two drinks of Pepsi to wash down this picante devil.

As of now, McDonald's may have bitten more than they could chew. With all their products getting spicier and having no new dimensions of flavour, it looks to be a downhill battle for this chain of restaurants that has been in our lives right since childhood. The only improvement they may get from this is a huge increase in demand for beverages. If anyone has the will (and a strong gut) to tackle this hot babe, make sure you have a decent ice cream after it, because trust me, this one is too hot to handle.

Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind- The 'inception' of Rom-Com

Love is sometimes overrated. All the lovey-dovey scenes and perfect happy endings in movies are so cliched, yet we love them. Nowadays, most relationships turn sour owing to many reasons. What if you had the option of wiping the entire memory of that one person you want to forget?

Joel Barish, a reserved, shy man starts dating Clementine Kruckzynski, a free-spirited, overly joyous young woman who has a thing for experimenting with hair colour (which changes dramatically through the movie). They have their share of ups and downs but later, both get fed up of each other's differences and take drastic measures.

Clementine hears about this place where they have the ability to wipe out any person from your mind. So, she signs up for the program and has Joel removed from her memories. Joel tries talking to her during work but she doesn't remember him anymore. After the horrible disappointment, he crashes at his friend's place where he is told about the memory erasing institution. Heart broken and utterly ruined, he decides to do the same and visits this clinic.

After being registered he is asked to speak out all the memories of Clementine and collect everything that is associated with her at his place. As the memory erasing process begins, Joel in his mind tries his best to keep up with the erasing. But, as they're halfway through it, he starts having second thoughts. So, the Joel in his mind takes different memories of Clementine to memories that she isn't a part of (like his childhood) and tries to outwit the sequence of memory erasing.

While all this is happening in Joel's head, the outside world isn't doing any better than he is. Secrets are revealed and things turn messy as the memory erasing process starts turning faulty. Does Joel actually succeed in keeping Clementine's memory or does technology outwit the mind?

Truly the inception of rom-com, this movie has many timelines and needs to be followed precisely, otherwise its not going to make any sense to you. It can get extremely confusing at times, but the beginning and ending of the movie clears everything out and leaves you wondering as to how you couldn't figure that out! All the scenes happening in Joel's head are the most entertaining and most important parts of the movie. If I had to choose one, it would be when he figures out a way to outsmart the system and starts running with the memory of Clementine to other places in his brain. Pretty clever thing to do, considering he was unconscious. A different concept for a romedy film, I would give it 3 and 1/2 stars.

No Happily Ever After, Afterall

No happily ever after, afterall

There are no castles or dragons,

No princes or frogs.

School and play is all we get 

Yet paradise is what this place is called. 

No sing alongs or dance sequences 

Just sound of pages turning, 

And chatter echoing 

Through the classrooms.

True love and midnight kisses

Are turned into jealousy and envy.

In this competitive world, 

Everyone is your enemy. 

There is no happily ever after, 

In this world of ours. 

Happiness always accompanying 

Some amount of pain, 

Is something that's overlooked 

By our fairy tales. 

The Old Year- The final poem for 2k15

This year has been one of the best years for me. So, this New Years, I'm kind of sad that 2015 is going and it went so quickly that I couldn't even think of saying new year. So, here's a poem, in tribute to the year that has gone by. This is the Review Girl hoping to see you all next year. Happy new year!

The old year 

The last day of the last month,

Champagne and parties 

Lights and music

Mistletoe and cakes

All wish for a better year to come 

Celebrate the old year for a change, 

Celebrate the time that has passed for a change.

Bring back the memories of the year that have gone, 

And look back at the friendships and love that was shared. 

The new year has a long time with you, 

But the old one will soon be gone. 

Remember it as a truly wonderful year,

No matter how much sadness it may have given. 

Finally, as the clock strikes twelve

Bid farewell to the year 

That flew by in a day.

You might just hope, 

That the next one be longer than this,

Stay longer than this, 

And change longer than this.

Shawshank Redemption- Fear or hope?

Prison. A word that sends shivers down your spine and brings images of black and grey walls, white uniforms, rusted bars and bad food. Desperation and loneliness is what you have left inside of you and the rest of your life, staring at the cold, paint-peeled wall to think of all the things you did to bring yourself here. Life becomes nothing more than a time bomb and you're waiting for it to blow.

In the year of 1947, when a banker from Maine steps into the prison of Shawshank, eyebrows go up seeing someone as well settled as a banker commit a crime fit for imprisonment. Andy Dufresne is sent to the toughest prison in Shawshank, Maine for allegedly committing the murders of his wife and her lover. Sentenced to two continuous life sentences, one for each of the victims, Andy enters the prison with no idea of what he would disclose within the next fifteen odd years.

With the first few months being to himself, Andy befriends a con man and smuggler, Ellis "Red" Redding. He was known to get things for people. So, when Andy asked for a poster of Rita Hayworth and a rock hammer, the two get acquainted with each other. Through the years Andy makes a few friends and a few enemies at the prison. Being a banker, the warden and officer in charge of the prison allow him to become the prison officers' official legal help assistant. Later, he is shifted to the library to help another inmate.

How time flies in a prison, even Andy couldn't decipher, but it had already been fifteen years since he had first come to Shawshank and that one day changed his life. In 1965, Tommy Williams was brought to prison for burglary. Soon, he starts talking to Andy and his friends and reveals that an inmate of his from another prison used to speak of committing a crime which was never pinned on him. The man had killed a lady and her lover but the lady's husband was framed for the crime instead. Sounding extremely familiar, Andy tries doing whatever he can to prove his innocence. But to what extent does he go?

A brilliant movie (which I had to watch thrice to completely see it due to technical difficulties) is one that really gets you excited when you see it scheduled to come on your tv. A strong message and a thrilling storyline, the Shawshank Redemption makes you see the prison world in a very different light. It has a perfect combination of humour, a bit of action, some drama but very little romance. This particular movie, I noticed, does not have a heroine per say. Nevertheless, the brilliant actors make up for everything. I found this movie's background score to be amazing. It captured the essence of every different scene so well, that you could actually feel the pain, happiness, content and horror of each scene. It may be a thriller, but it's one that you can watch any number of times. A movie worth four and a half stars from the Review Girl.

Unfair Happiness

Unfair happiness  

Fate, you have a way with my life, 

How you turn things upside down 

And give wretched happiness

Along with contended sorrow. 

You let me win, 

But deep down I feel defeated. 

For I now have no one left 

To share what I've got. 

The happiest moments 

Are accompanied by tears.

Sometimes, I welcome the sad ones

With smiles from ear to ear. 

I can never forgive you

For all that you've done. 

I may have won some battles 

But the one I want most, 

Is what I've lost.