Hellcats

Are you a fan of Bring It On! or Step Up 2? If you are, then this is the show for you! This comedy-drama series is about Marti (Alyson Michalka), who is a lawyer student at a college called Lancer; Lancer is located in Memphis, Tennessee. Marti is a serious student that wants to be successful and graduate college, but she looses her scholarship which is what is keeping her in school. Marti must now find a new way to stay in college, which she does by entering cheerleading tryouts for the school’s cheerleading team, Hellcats. If she makes the cheerleading team, then she gets a new scholarship and stays in school. Of course Marti makes it and she is introduced into a totally different world: Cheertown!

I like the characters in this show. In the beginning, I thought that my favorite character would be Marti, but she turned out to be a very big cliche character. The character that I ended up liking most is Savannah (Ashley Tisdale). Savannah is the cheerleading captain of the Hellcats. In the beginning of the series, Savannah looks like she would be the snobby queen-bee, but she turned out to be the complete opposite. She has a bubbly personality and is loyal to her teammates. Savannah’s actions really surprise me because she’s very benevolent. There was an event in the story where the Hellcats had to compete against the Volleyball team to prove that they are athletes too. Marti couldn’t attend this competition because her academic class had a trip which was very important for her education. Knowing that Marti is only using cheerleading to get a scholorship in her education and is choosing the success in herself rather than the team, Savannah doesn’t reveal this to the team. This shows her loyalty to Marti and how she understands Marti’s situation. Not only does this show have unique characters, but it’s very entertaining to watch the world of cheerleading and their routines. I totally recommend this TV show! :)

The Biggest Loser

The Biggest Loser is a reality television series that targets people that are obese.  The contestants have to battle against each other to lose as much weight as they possibly can. Whoever loses the highest percent of weight will be crowned “The Biggest Loser”. Now, being crowned “The Biggest Loser” doesn’t necessarily mean that the competitor is the worst loser; being the biggest loser is a good thing. If the contestant beats everybody that they are playing against, they will win a large amount of money. In the USA version of The Biggest Loser, the contestant wins $100,000. But the biggest prize of all is turning into a person with a healthier lifestyle. Winning isn’t just handed over to the contestants; it takes hard and painful work that will not have an affect overnight. The show lasts for twelve weeks so the competitor has to compete for a long term. 

Stop and think about how it would feel to be in one of the competitor’s shoes, weighing double your weight and having everybody staring at you. Not a good feeling right? There’s no wonder why many people want to compete in this show. Not only is it easier once they are in at the camp where everybody else is like them, but there are trainers there to help guide you through the process. Since this is a big issue in the United States, there are many people of different ages inspired to work on their own bodies while watching this show. This TV show has a positive effect world-wide because many people can relate to this issue. It shows people more information about their diet, nutrition, and also what different ways you can exercise. 

Charlie St. Cloud

Charlie St. Cloud is a romantic drama movie based on the book called The Death and Life of Charlie St. Cloud by Ben Sherwood. The story is about the life of a young man who’s name is Charlie St. Cloud (Zac Efron). Charlie grieves over the death of his younger brother, Sam, who dies in a tragic car accident. Before the car accident, Charlie makes a deal with Sam; he would practice playing baseball with him every day at Sunset Cannons. Five years after the accident, Charlie continues practicing baseball with him; this is the only way that Charlie can see Sam. Aside from Charlie’s life with Sam, a new person comes into his life, Tess. Tess is a young women who was a classmate of his when they went to high school. Charlie and Tess become more and more involved in each other's life. The more that Charlie spends time with Tess, the less he gets to see Sam. He has to choose between grieving the past and getting to see his brother or having a future and living his life with the person he loves. 

The first thing that comes to mind when the name Zac Efron appears, is the movie High School Musical. Now that he has acted in a very different, more mature movie, I think that he now has a big career ahead of him. I thought he nailed the role and it really shows that he has talent. In my opinion, he is a better actor than a singer/dancer. He has done musicals in the past where he seemed like he hadn’t decided whether he wanted to be an actor or an artist. Now that he has done this movie, he has proved that acting is his strength and he wants pursue his acting career. Overall, I was astonished with Zac’s acting and I can’t wait for more of his movies to premiere. 

American Idol!

American Idol is a reality TV show where people from across American come to compete against each other. The point of this competition is to find a new artist that has a singing talent. The winner of the show is determined by the people watching each performance. Everybody can either call in or text to vote for the person they think is the best. 

I absolutely cannot wait until American Idol starts off. Just the other day, I was listening to a previous American Idol winner, then the idea popped up in my mind. I hadn’t heard anybody talking about it or I didn’t see any new singles come out on iTunes. It turns out that it had not even started yet! I still can’t believe that it comes back in January! That has never happened before. In the past, American Idol usually comes back on in the Fall season, but not this year. It will be worth it though. I love it when we get to see everybody audition, especially when I watch it with my friends. We have a lot of fun making fun of the people that stand out from the crowd. Overall, my favorite part of American Idol is picking the person that I think is the best and routing them for the whole season. I find it fun to listen to their version of the single that they covered. Many people have different styles and voices so it’s really interesting how much people can change the original song. 

Pretty Little Liars, Season 1

The TV show Pretty Little Liars is based on a book series by the author Sara Shepard. Pretty Little Liars is about four girls, Hanna, Aria, Emily, and Spencer, who have grown apart since their best friend’s death. After a year since Alison’s death, they all receive text messages from “A” and come together to try to stop “A” from revealing their darkest secrets. 

In my opinion, I really liked the cast that was chosen to play the characters. What I look for in the actors is if they can make the story believable and real and that’s what they achieved. I found that story overall has a great and unique plot. The show contains the usual teenage drama, but what shows don’t have that this one does is the mystery. This series has the perfect combination of the drama and mystery and that’s makes it unique. I also found that Pretty Little Liars has some of the aspects that Gossip Girl has like the mystery texts that revels their dark secrets and the rich teens that can get out of any situation with their money. If you like a drama series and the show Gossip Girl, you might like Pretty Little Liars. Pretty Little Liars is the type of show that drags you into the story and leaves you wanting more. I heard about this show when it came up in one of the conversations my cousins were having about the episode that aired the night before. They were so into trying to figure out who Alison was that I had to watch the TV show myself. Once I started watching it I was hooked. At the end of each episode I got so mad because I had to wait another week for the next episode. It was so addicting. The worst part of it is waiting till 2011 to continue watching :(, but it’s totally worth the wait. 

The Blind Side

The Blind side is a movie that is based on a true story. It is the story about the life of a homeless teenager named Michael Oher. Leigh Anne, who the is mother of the wealthy Touhys family, provides Michael with a home and makes sure that he lives up to his full potential. Although Michael showed his interest in football and made the team, the only thing holding him back from a NCAA Division I athletic scholarship was his grades. In the end, he becomes a All American football player and first round NFL draft pick and he couldn’t do it without the Touhys Family. 

Even though I'm not a big fan of the sport, football, I'm fan of this movie. I found that this movie was very inspiring because it shows that people can start from the bottom and be successful if they work hard. I think that many people can relate and feel connected to Michael with his situation, having nothing then having everything. I also found this movie heartwarming because of how much people can change a teenagers life. First, the community that it took place in was in a rich white neighborhood. Once Leigh Anne took in a African-American homeless teenager everybody thought she was crazy. I found that the most heartwarming because she ignored what everybody thought and did what she thought was right. Her reward from doing that was adopting a loving son and seeing him be very successful. 

V (TV Show 2009)

V (2009) is a science fiction TV show that is about the lives of people after the arrival of the "Visitors". The "Visitors" are creatures that look like humans on the outside, but come from outer space. Their leader, Anna, says they mean no harm and only peace. The Visitors win the human race over with their new technology that help the people tremendously. As the show goes on, it shows reveals more and more of why the Visitors are really there. The TV show that I will be referring to is the series that was remade in 2009, not the original series that was made 1983 :). 

The shows that I typically watch are more dramatic based, but this show’s genre is science fiction. What makes it unique is that it has the fiction side of the story and the real part of the story as well. The fiction part includes alien technology and the way that the Visitors live. The plot is different too because the story is based on the fate of the humans, not just the complicated relationships between the characters like in a regular drama series. There is some drama between the characters, but adding in the fiction part of it makes the story even more interesting than it already is. V leaves me wanting more because I want to know the end result of why the Visitors are there and what will happen to the humans in the process. 

The Last Song (Movie)

The Last Song is a movie about a teenage girl, Ronnie, who is forced to stay with her dad for the entire summer. Her parents were separated three years before so she’s not a happy camper. Her parents divorce changed everything about her. In the beginning of the movie she was a very dark and sad person, but that changed when she met a boy. As the movie went on she fell in love and she got closer to her dad. The conflict of this story was when she finds out that her father has cancer. The story is about the events in her summer. 

When this movie came out I was very excited to go and see it because the movie was based on a book by the author Nicolas Sparks. Some of my favorite movies were based on his books so I was really excited. But as soon as I found out that Miley Cyrus was the main actress I became hesitant to watch it. I didn’t enjoy her work in the past like her TV show, Hannah Montana, but since it was based on Nicolas Sparks book I had to go see it. It turned out to be a good movie despite her acting. The story and the relationship between Ronnie and Will was real and they also made it funny. I think a lot of people can relate to the situation that Will had, which was his parents not being there for him or Ronnie’s situation with the divorced parents.

My Sister’s Keeper Book Review

My Sister’s Keeper is a story about a family that contains a family member with cancer. Kate has the cancer called leukemia and for this reason the family decides to have another baby, Anna, in order to help save Kate’s life. Anna is a perfect donor match to Kate and that would help Kate survive longer than she was supposed to. But once Anna finds out that she needs to donate her kidney to her sister, she sues her parents for the rights to her own body. If she did this, Kate would die. The only reason she sues her parents was because Kate didn’t believe she would survive anyways and if Anna lost her kidney, that would change her life. In the end, after Anna wins the case and has the rights to her own body, she gets into a car crash. The car crash was so bad that after getting to the hospital, Anna was going to die. They donate Anna’s kidney to her sister and Kate stays in remission for at least six years. 

I originally watched the movie when it came out instead of reading the book. Many people said that the movie was really different from the book and the book was ten times better, so I had to see for myself. I enjoyed reading this book because the story is so different from what I normally read and that’s what kept me reading. Also, I liked the authors message which was anybody can take control of their own life. Many people can probably relate to Anna’s situation of being controlled and not being able to make their own decisions. This book shows that anybody in any situation can find a way to gain control and have free will. I enjoyed reading this book and I look forward to reading more books by the author, Jodi Picoult. 

Background Blog

I got to say right off the bat that I don’t have a specific topic I’m going to be writing about. Although I’m not certain about the theme of this blog, I know what this post will be about. Let me give you some background information about myself. To begin with, I’m half American and half Filipino. I’ve lived overseas my entire life due to my dad working for an oil company. Currently, I am living in the country called Venezuela and attending an international school. The activity that I’m most active in is sports. Students are able to travel to different places to compete with other schools. We have one tournament within Venezuela and another competing against the schools in the Caribbean.

Entertainment is probably the biggest hobby of mine. I love watching different TV shows and keeping myself up to date with them. There are so many different TV shows out there that it’s hard to just watch one. Another interest that I have is playing different instruments. My main instrument that I play right now is the drums. I’ve been playing the drums for about three years. I sometimes play the piano, but that’s only for fun. Guitar was another instrument that I have played, but I don’t enjoy it as much as playing the drums. In addition, I love listening to music. Having headphones in my ears everywhere I go proves it. Hip-Hop/Rap and Pop are the main genres that I listen to. I spend a lot of time looking for new songs to download. I absolutely cannot stand old kinds of music. What I mean when I say “old music” is music released at a date that is older than I am. As soon as someone puts it on I get really annoyed. I also don’t really like strong country or heavy metal.