"If She Dies, She Dies!"

Okay guys, I've just been to see 'The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel' and it was amazing! The basic plot involved a group of pensioners (for various reasons of their own) travelling to India to stay at what is described to be a dream Hotel in the heart of India, only to find it is falling apart and owned by an eccentric manager (Dev Patel) whose passion for the business makes him blind to the situation around him. First of all, it, in my opinions, has a cast to die for! For those who don't know, these include Maggie Smith, Judi Dench, Bill Nighy, Celia Imrie and many more! The entire cast were fantastic, and even Karen from 'Outnumbered' made a minor appearance, which was a nice surprise. The film was full of humour, poking fun at a number of topics which had the entire Cinema laughing their heads off. The storyline was, in some ways, predictable but there were a couple of surprises and I for one like a certain amount of predictability so that the plot does not become confusing. The characters were developed nicely and the shots of India and soundtrack were a beautiful glimpse into a very different culture. Overall, I don't just recommend this, I am saying to you all it is a necessity that you go and see it!

In other news, I'm thinking of setting up a Make-Up blog because I'm really getting into it! Ordered a few eyeshadows from Shiro Cosmetics (a fabulous indie brand that I am eager to try) and some Pixie Epoxy from Fyrinnae (yet another greatly reviewed indie brand, their eyeshadows look beautiful).

Anyway, looking forward to a nice day off tomorrow!

Chouwa Oto

Such a dramatic week guys, and I'm feeling a bit drained! But as promised here are my views on 'ToraDora!' and 'Origin: Spirits Of The Past'.

Firstly ToraDora! A fairly typical love story set in Japan of course. Boy (Ryuji) and girl (Taiga) meet, dislike each other but join forces in a reluctant, mutual decision because each can help the other get the one they want. He has issues, she has issues (major issues!) but eventually they realise that in trying to get their crushes, they have in fact fallen in love with each other. Now admittedly the first episode didn't grab me. I found it too much too soon. But I gave it a chance, as it definitely had potential, and I was not disappointed! One thing that really grabbed me about this anime was their feelings were really gradual, which is sometimes lacking in animes I have watched in the past where they instantly seem to fall in love and spend an excruciating hundred billion episodes figuring out the other one feels the same. Here, each is convinced they are already in love and so remain ignorant of each other for quite a lot of the anime. But the viewers definitely notice the subtle changes as Ryuji and Taiga frequently display their growing affection for one another, and it is easy to spot that their interest in their crushes wanes throughout the series.

Another great part of this anime which I find in few others is that you don't find yourself hating their crushes (Minori and Yūsaku) at all! All the characters develop and grow on you, dealing with their personal issues along the way. Even the bitchy Ami introduced as an obvious ploy to throw the clueless soulmates off track has a few surprises up her sleeve. The anime contains plenty of funny and serious moments to appeal to a large audience and I would definitely recommend this one!

Now for Origin. Again, another love story which in storyline is a sort of cross between 'Laputa: Castle In The Sky' and 'Nausicaa: Valley Of The Wind'. It is set in a post-apocalyptic world where the forest has taken over and few humans survive. Those who do have separated into two main groups, one wanting to control the forest by force, and one wanting to keep peace and live alongside it. The peaceful Neutral City is home to Agito, who stumbles upon a sleeping girl from the past named Toola and accidentally wakes her up. Toola unknowingly holds the key to bringing the World back to how it was before, sparking a war between the two factions. But the question remains, at what cost? Before viewing, I'd heard mixed reviews about the content, but all agreed that visually it was a stunning film to watch. I 100% agree that it is appealing to the eyes! Some of the effects were beautiful. In terms of content, the storyline was simple yet effective, and I didn't have a problem with it. I did feel that the characters were underdeveloped in some instances, especially the side characters, and motivation was not clear for some of the situations that rose. I believe that if the film had been longer (it was about an hour and a half), this could have easily been sorted. All in all though, it was a good film and I think it would appeal to a lot of people to watch. The opening song 'Chouwa Oto' (I bet some of you wondered what the title meant) was beautiful, everyone give it a listen!

Just to catch up, this week I have managed to watch Disney's newest version of 'The Princess And The Frog' (FINALLY!) and found it very different to the usual Disney Film, which was refreshing. Also I've literally JUST got back from watching 'Ghost Rider: Spirit Of Vengeance'. I was weary as I hadn't watched the first film and I thought this would hinder me, but I didn't find it hard to follow at all! It was a little cheesy at times, but overall an enjoyable film.

Other than that, I'm tired and very much looking forward to a nice day off tomorrow (again, FINALLY!).

Valentines Day and Masterclass Week

My apologies, dear readers. I have been very ill over the last few days and so couldn't post. Therefore I have a lot of catching up to do!

Firstly, Valentines Day. It can only be described as perfect. I understand that many feel Valentines Day to be overrated (they are normally single) and in a sense I agree, it is very commercialised. However, those who actually tell couples off for being happy on Valentines Day are ridiculous. Many people put a lot of thought into their Valentines Gifts for their loved ones and can't wait to GIVE them. Surely such positive, thoughtless feelings are to be encouraged. I received a beautiful bunch of roses and a box of chocolates (yes I know, I know) which I was very grateful for. As cliche as they are, I've never had flowers for valentines day before and I imagine they were very expensive! But as well as this, I got my favourite present, a cuddly Simba and Nala from the Disney Store! It reminded me that Valentines Day is not just about buying the most romantic present you can find, but buying a present that you KNOW the other will love. It was also a dutiful reminder that I'm going to see The Lion King Musical for my birthday (AHHHSO EXCITED).

Now moving on from Valentines Day. This week has been Masterclass Week for my Performing Arts course at Uni (a sort of half term with optional classes) and I have attended a couple. The first was Puppetry with Steve Allen, who has worked with the Muppets and more notably in my opinion, created the prototype for Ludo in Labyrinth! (Ludo!) His class was fascinating and gave us an insight into how much hard work puppeteering can be (it absolutely kills the arms). We even had a go at making puppets from our hands (again like in Labyrinth, or the Adult Education advert).

The other class I attended this week was a Make-Up/Special Effects class and this on I was very excited about. I was not disappointed! The class focused on Wounds/Cuts/Bruises and was fascinating! You would be surprised how much you can do with a Snazaroo Kit, though I expect you can do a whole lot more with professional equipment. Here are a couple of examples of the wounds we created:

Gruesome huh? I certainly can't wait to do more of this kind of stuff!

As for the rest of my week, obviously I've been ill. But I have been able to finish 'ToraDora!' and watch a movie that I brought a while back and never got round to watching, 'Origin: Spirit Of The Past'. I'll talk more about those next post.



May The Force Be With You!

So I've been to the Cinema again (loving my Cineworld Unlimited Card!) The post title may just give you a clue as to what I saw!

Now I hope saying this won't get me shot, but I've never seen the Star Wars Movies before, and so I felt this was the best time to do it (plus the boyfriend has branded me deprived). I was pleasantly surprised, I wasn't sure if I'd enjoy it. The 3D aspect I felt they'd done a really good job on considering it was all older footage. All in all it was a great film (as the entire population except me already knew) and if you're a big Star Wars fan then it would be a great opportunity to relive those films again.

The snow has begun to melt now and is being replaced with rain, so we're back to a miserable winter once more. I can't wait until the sun comes out again!

See No Evil, Hear No Evil, Speak No Evil

Readers, I am terrified!

I've just been to see the Woman In Black with the fella and I'm not sure I'll be able to sleep tonight. So I'm going to blog instead. Those wanting to watch, stay back! Save yourselves!
I joke of course, it was a fantastic film. I think watching it on the big screen definitely made the experience better (and more terrifying). For those that have seen the stage show or read the book it is different as to be expected. However I don't think this is a bad thing! It put it's own twist on the story while keeping the fundamental parts that we wanted to see. Daniel Radcliffe was very good (though it was definitely hard to shake the whole Harry Potter thing bless him). I would definitely recommend, though ONLY if you think you can without being traumatised. Don't be fooled by the 12A rating, I certainly wouldn't take a 12 year old to see it, it's far too scary!

I was glad to see it was a 'Hammer' film, (I've become a fan of Hammer House of Horror films recently, watched 'Witching Time' yesterday with my Dad). You could definitely see the old Hammer House of Horror influences in the film! I've been watching a lot recently, just started a new anime called 'Toradora!'. Would definitely recommend, it's underrated but very VERY addictive.

The title of the post? I noticed that in both 'The Woman in Black' and 'The Artist' that symbol appeared, which I found interesting. Google it!

"With Pleasure."

So as promised I went to go and watch 'The Artist' and thoroughly enjoyed it! As you may know, it's a silent film, in black and white about the film industry in the late 20s/early 30s when sound was introduced. It's a relatively simple story line, but is well worth a watch! I found that I didn't miss the sound at all and was shocked when noise (apart from the silent film style music which plays throughout) did occur. Admittedly this film probably isn't for everyone, but it was a clever film and I found myself laughing throughout. If anyone isn't sure whether it would be worth seeing it (I too was umming and ahhing), I recommend just go for it!


I'm currently relaxing to the soundtrack from Matilda (yet another beautiful, funny, simple film I enjoy) which I recently acquired, and wondering whether my driving lesson tomorrow will be cancelled, seeing as it's still a bit icy and more snow is said to be on its way tonight. Hope you all have a good evening!

Monochrome Winter

Welcome to my blog.

So here is my first post. This blog is going to, as my description suggests, become my artistic outlet. So many times I have had an itch when seeing something inspirational. Something I want to share!

The title of this post comes because while on the train back from Uni today, I was looking at some distant hills. They were covered in snow and I realised how everything looked so Black and White, like something from an old movie. The hills were of course a bright white with the snow, combined with ash grey freckles. Then the thick shrubs, bushes and trees were a coal black, set against a light silver sky. Not a single speck of colour was to be seen. Dismal and mirky as the sight was, it was strangely beautiful. Who knew? Unfortunately I couldn't get a decent picture to show you, but the sight made me decide i was finally going to stop procrastinating and start blogging.

Talking of black and white movies, I'm (weather permitting) off to see 'The Artist' tomorrow with the fella! I've heard good things, so have high expectations of it! I'll let you all know about it tomorrow, it's quite late and I'm knackered!

This is the most similar picture I could find to the kind of view I was getting. Pretty isn't it?