Daily Shenanigans, 15/07/2014: Secret Unlimited Screening!

I've had quite a day today, starting off with a lovely lay-in because I was absolutely shattered after yesterday! When I finally got up about mid-morning, I got straight on with writing my Top Ten Tuesday post and browsing the others on my Bloglovin' feed. I feel like I've been neglecting commenting on other people's blogs recently, so have tried to do a bit of catching up. I've also been pretty busy job hunting, sorting out the consoles that Mat and I are going to sell tomorrow, and doing a bit of reading. I really need to get back into that, especially as I now don't have a work shift for a good week and a half!

The main highlight of the day however came when Mat and I went to the Unlimited Screening. We didn't know, until tonight, what the film would actually be. A few clues had been let slip on Twitter, but nothing definitive. When I found out it was 'Dawn Of The Planet Of The Apes' I had a pretty mixed reaction. First there was the fact that I hadn't seen it's predecessor, so I was a little annoyed that they had decided to show a sequel for that reason. Secondly, the website advertised the secret screening as being shown 'well ahead of it's release date'. Is two days before it's released 'well ahead'? I think not. 

Nevertheless, despite feeling a bit negative to begin with, the film itself was phenomenal! I didn't need to have seen 'Rise Of The Planet Of The Apes' to understand it (though there were references) and I thought the animation was just fantastic. I really got into it a lot and regretted my initial annoyance, though I do still feel a little cheated. Anyone who was wondering whether it would be worth a watch, it is. For the CGI alone! The expressions on the apes were beautifully rendered, managing to look both human and convey emotion, while most definitely ape-like. I really bought into the story and the acting, and I loved the soundtrack.

Tomorrow I have to run a couple of errands and I'm seeing Mat for most of the day. I should get some reading done though and I really hope to finish 'The Silent History' and get onto 'Dragon's Curse'.

Daily Shenanigans, 16/06/2014: 'The Fault In Our Stars' Advanced Screening.

So I've had a pretty exciting and productive day today, certainly in terms of reading! To begin with, I was staying at Mat's last night and I've spent the day at his. We mostly relaxed, playing games and watching Game Of Thrones. As well as that I managed to finish that very book! I enjoyed it so much, and the review went up today as promised. I thoroughly recommend the book, it's a brilliant start to the epic saga!

But now for the main crux of my post. This evening, Mat and I made use of our Unlimited cards and watched the advanced screening of 'The Fault In Our Stars' (it actually comes out Thursday here in Britain). I will start by saying that I majorly cried and it was not a pretty sight at all! The whole cinema was in floods of tears and anyone who has read the book will know why. It was definitely worth the sobbing though, the film was fantastic! Hazel and Augustus had a wonderful onscreen chemistry that far exceeded my expectations and I enjoyed every minute of the film. They stuck pretty closely to the book as well which I was pleased about. I really appreciated seeing some of my favourite quotes in there, but I actually found a new appreciation for some parts of the film that I didn't take much notice of in the book.

The casting was fantastic. Shailene Woodley and Ansel Elgort were wonderful as the two leads,  as I have said. In addition, Nat Wolff played Isaac perfectly! I had such a soft spot for Isaac in the book that it was important to me that the film got him right, which they did. I was also very impressed with Willem Dafoe as the eccentric and bitter Peter van Houten. I am so glad that I enjoyed this film,  which was very funny at times, but heart breaking and emotional throughout.

Tomorrow I'm off to stay round a friend's house who I haven't seen for a very long time! I'll also be posting my Top Ten Tuesday post!

Daily Shenanigans, 03/06/2014: Advanced screening?

Well readers, I have some pretty exciting news to share! You may, or may not, be aware that Mat and I both have Cineworld Unlimited Cards. This means that we get invited to see certain films a little bit early, and this month's film is 'The Fault In Our Stars'. I am extremely excited, I literally almost jumped through the ceiling when I first found out and Mat booked tickets immediately. The screening is on Monday 16th June so as soon as I've watched it, I'll let you all know my thoughts! Other than that, my day has mainly been headache filled. I have been feeling really tired and not well so I've been doing very little other than driving my Mum to the Garage as promised. I read a bit (though not as much as I hoped. Migraines plus reading books don't make a good concoction). I did also do some puzzles and watch my sister play The Sims 3. I really want to get playing that game a lot this Summer, I love it!  I also wrote my Top Ten Tuesday post which as always was so much fun! It made me really excited for my upcoming reads!

Tomorrow I'll be seeing Mat, reading, I have a Dentist Appointment and then I'm off to London! Again! We're hoping to go looking at a couple of houses, but I'm really looking forward to our Theatre trip on Thursday! 

Daily Shenanigans, 01/06/2014: 'Maleficent'.

So today was a lovely day off, but I did get a surprising amount done. Actually I was pretty productive! I've made a start on 'The Luminaries' and it's pretty enjoyable so far. I'm intrigued to see where this one will lead. In fact I spent a good bit of the day reading, doing blog stuff and generally relaxing. I posted two other posts today, my 'Planned Reads For June' and my 'Weekly Wishlist' which I really enjoyed writing! I did also create a review archive page, which I plan to show on my blog ASAP. It was satisfying to put all of my reviews in one place, and I can't wait to add to it! This evening, I went to pick Mat up from work and then we headed to his and watched another episode of 'Game Of Thrones'. Well, most of it anyway. We had to stop ten minutes before the end to go to the cinema.

It was worth the interruption though because this evening I watched 'Maleficent'. I think it's going to be pretty hard to put into words how excited I was for this film. It looked like it was going to take Sleeping Beauty's story down a similar path that 'Wicked' did with 'The Wizard Of Oz'. I worried that I would be disappointed, but now I realise I had nothing to worry about at all. It was a stunning film. They made a few changes to the story but that was really to be expected. The visuals, first off, were stunning. Particularly some of the scenes set in the land of the Fairies. These were among my favourite, the huge amount of imagination that went into this film was something to behold. I actually really did like the story itself too. 

Angelina Jolie did a wonderful job as the titular character. I'm not an overly big fan of hers and I worried that I wouldn't enjoy her performance, but she was perfect for the role! Cold-hearted and cruel, but with hidden depths that were a joy to discover. I also really loved Imelda Staunton as Knotgrass and Elle Fanning played Aurora wonderfully. Again, I worried that I might find her annoying, but I found instead the complete opposite! Sharlto Copley was great as the mad King Stefan but for me the star performance came from Sam Riley as Diaval the Raven. I found him to be so funny and they really made his character a memorable one.

All in all, a fantastic film with great costumes and a beautiful soundtrack to boot! Tomorrow I'm working again but I plan to squeeze in a lot of reading around my shift. I have to get the train tomorrow, so I will certainly be able to use that time to my advantage.

Daily Shenanigans, 27/05/2014: 'X-Men: Days Of Future Past'.

Well today felt like the first actual day off where I've been able to work on blogging and reading without worrying about anything else in ages! I spent the morning working on my Top Ten Tuesday post which as always, I really enjoyed writing. Particularly as this week's topic was a freebie so I could devise whatever list I wanted! I think I chose a topic I've been wanting to get off my chest for a while, page-to-screen adaptions hold a very special place in my heart. Straight after finishing that, I wrote my review of 'The Three' by Sarah Lotz. The book itself I had mixed thoughts on, but I did enjoy the unique style that it was told in. Having finished that, I felt it was important to catch up on all the blog posts I've been missing while I've been busy at Uni because I think it's important that as a community we all take the time to read each other's posts as well as write our own. I did also get a chance to read a little of my next read, Nicola Mar's 'A Red Tale' which I'm enjoying so far.

This evening, Mat came round to drop the car off and we decided on the spur of the moment to go to the cinema and watch a film that we have both been extremely excited about! Since attending the premiere, I have been beside myself waiting to watch the latest X-Men film! The trailers gave very little away but it was really fantastic. I felt that Jennifer Lawrence really excelled herself in this one, Mystique seemed to have a whole lot more depth than I've seen previously in the series. Patrick Stewart and Ian McKellen were just wonderful to watch, I hadn't realised how much I'd missed those characters. I also really enjoyed Michael Fassbender and James McAvoy,  they were just great. Someone that really shone (that I wasn't expecting) was Evan Peters as Quicksilver! One word: hilarious. I really hope to see more of him in the future and I'm a little intrigued to see what Marvel's interpretation in Avengers: Age of Ultron will be! As well as the all important acting and the pretty decent storyline,  I did really enjoy the effects,  and I thought the soundtrack was awesome! Well worth a watch!

Tomorrow I'm reading and packing in the morning as I have work in the afternoon, then straight to Mat's house to stay over. 

Daily Shenanigans, 15/05/2014: 'Godzilla'.

I've had quite a busy day today but I'll try to keep this fairly brief as I'm knackered! I started off the day writing my 'Life Of A Blogger' post and drafting the answers to my 'Book Blogger Test' questions (I had to wait to get the picture, which is why the post ended up going up so late). Imogen, the friend that was coming over today, arrived not long after and I spent a lovely few hours with her talking about my Multimedia Project as well as catching up and playing games. It was a lot of fun and really good to see her again after such a long time! After Imogen had gone, Mat came over with the car and we made our way to the cinema to watch 'Godzilla' this evening!

I'll write a little something about the film. I wasn't expecting it to be all that good, but as far as remakes go, I was pretty taken aback by how much I actually enjoyed it. They made Godzilla look pretty cool, the use of Modern CGI effects for this one were well placed and I really like his new look. I also really liked the story-line as well. I watched the original film a very long time ago and don't remember much about it but I would be interested to see how the two compared. This felt very modern and pretty realistic, though I wasn't totally blown away and something about the end reaction felt a little off to me. I did enjoy the focus on other things, namely family, in this one. It turned the film into something more than just a disaster film. Also, Alexandre Desplat's score was gorgeous. Some really nice moments in there!

All in all, I've had a nice, relaxing day! Tomorrow I'm back to Uni to work on my Project a bit more (it's my final Uni assignment) and I'll get some more reading done. Whew!

Daily Shenanigans, 17/04/2014: 'The Amazing Spider Man 2'.

So my day was pretty average and laid back. I did a bit of Uni work, but mostly spent the day chilling with my sister, doing some blog stuff and doing chores. I wrote up and posted my 'Life Of A Blogger' post, which took me absolutely ages because I had a lot to say on the subject! I have a lot of actors and actresses that I admire and look up to, so this was always going to be a topic that I enjoyed writing about. During the afternoon, Mat came round and I'm afraid to say Phoebe has failed her MOT. It wasn't anything huge, just the emissions level was way too high. Still, annoying and it leaves me (and Mat) without our beloved Fiat until the problem is fixed!

Onto the silver lining, and the crux of this post. We still went to the Cinema and we still saw 'The Amazing Spider Man 2'. It was a fantastic film, I enjoyed it so much! Firstly I'll talk about the part that stuck out most to me (as it always does). The soundtrack. Hans Zimmer, you have done it again! It was a work of art and as soon as it is released (please soon, I don't think I can cope) I want it. I loved what they did for Electro's theme, there is some really cool stuff in there! Now: onto the film. The visuals were great, the plot-line so brilliantly orchestrated. Between this film and it's predecessor, I would say this is definitely my favourite. Some great acting came from Andrew Garfield and Emma Stone and I felt the development in their relationship a lot more this time!

Some other stand out performances of course came from the villains. Jamie Foxx as Electro. He was so great, such a sad back-story and I completely understood him as a character, which is what I like in a villain. For me, they need to be complex, which Electro was. The same can definitely be said for Dane DeHaan as Harry Osborn. I have never seen his acting before but I want more! He was amazing! There is a particularly unexpected and frankly pretty heart-breaking scene between the two of them which actually revealed their vulnerable sides. That's something you don't often see when two villains interact in a film and I really liked it. Talking of heart-breaking scenes, I won't give anything away, but I was a blubbering wreck towards the end. Be warned!

Tomorrow, I'm off to Uni again to help another of my friends with their project and to hopefully get some programming of my own done! I'll be pretty busy all day, but hopefully I'll get time to finish my NetGalley bio (I made a start) and request a couple of books to try it out! 

Daily Shenanigans, 03/04/2014: 'A Long Way Down'

So I started off having a pretty relaxing day! I had a bit of a lie in, a nice bath, packed for Mat's and then spent the rest of the morning doing my quite short 'Life Of A Blogger' post on handwriting. Mat came to get me about midday and I've spent a lovely afternoon popping to Tesco and chilling at his house. The weather was lovely today so it was nice to be out of the house for a bit! While at Mat's, I also finished and reviewed 'Tithe', a book that I thoroughly enjoyed! I've made a good start on 'The Invention Of Wings' and a review of that should appear in the next few days.

This evening, Mat and I decided that we really wanted to go to the cinema! So we went to see 'A Long Way Down' which made me so happy because I've been desperate to watch it! All I can say about it is that it was a brilliant film. Heart wrenching, humorous at times, and entirely worth the wait. For those that don't know, it is based on a book by Nick Hornby, and tells the story of four people with very different lives, each wanting to commit suicide. After an accidental meet on the top of a rooftop, they make a pact to not kill themselves for six weeks and see where there story takes them. The film did a beautiful job of really giving an in depth look into the life of each character and we come to understand and sympathize with them all. Seriously, I sobbed through quite a lot of this movie! The acting was great and the soundtrack beautiful. Definitely one to watch for those that haven't seen it, I would love to see it again! 

It's rather late because we have only just returned from the cinema. The only showing we could get to see was the 09:40pm showing,  but it was so worth it! Tomorrow I will definitely be having a lazy day doing as little as possible. Enough said. 

Daily Shenanigans, 29/03/2014: 'Captain America: The Winter Soldier'

So briefly, my day was mostly spent reading and Internet browsing. What can I say? I'm a slob. I had to go collect a parcel this morning which ended up being the two DVDs I ordered ('Thor: The Dark World' and 'The Hunger Games: Catching Fire') and two of the three books I've been waiting for! 'Midwinterblood' by Marcus Sedgewick and 'Fearless' by Tim Lott are now in my possession! Hooray! I am very much looking forward to getting into them (if I ever get through 'The Telling Error', why is this book taking me so long?) Mat came round mid-afternoon and we spent a nice afternoon playing some Pokémon and chilling out, before heading off to the cinema to see the latest Captain America movie!

Wow, wow, wow! What a film! I loved it so, so much. The plot was great, the humour was actually hilarious and I loved some of the characters, old and new. Scarlet Johansson, Cobie Smulders and Samuel L Jackson were great in this movie, they took a bit of a back seat in the Avengers but really came into their own here! I wish Hawkeye had been in it, they really need to do more with his character. Chris Evans was wonderful to watch and I think this is his best portrayal of Steve Rogers/Captain America yet! Next, the villian. The Winter Soldier. He was a great twist in the story, I loved his development and for me, he was easily the best Marvel has produced after Loki (who will always be the villian for me, Hiddleston is just marvelous). But I cannot wait for more! Anthony Mackie was great as Sam Wilson/Falcon and I really hope we get to see more of him. Though 'The Avengers', 'Thor: The Dark World' and 'Iron Man 3' are still, I think, my top 3 Marvel movies, this came pretty close to knocking one off the pedestal, so well done for that!

Another day of pretty much nothing tomorrow, I must finish this book and post the review, as well as another Weekly wishlist, so that will take a lot of time. Also, it's Mother's Day here in the UK tomorrow, so I'm looking forward to a relaxing day with the family!

Daily Shenanigans, 15/03/2014: 'The Grand Budapest Hotel'

It is quite late at night because I've just got back to Mat's house from the cinema so I won't spend too long on this one! I've had a pretty good day today, though it has gone quicker than I thought it would. Aside from blog planning and a bit of reading, it has mostly been filled with Uni work. I did watch 'Mad Max 2' with my Dad which broke it up a bit. But still the most interesting part was seeing Mat and spending the evening with him. After a nice, long afternoon at his house playing games, eating pasta and generally enjoying each other's company, the time came to head to the cinema.

The film itself was fantastic. 'The Grand Budapest Hotel' largely centres on telling the story of a young Lobby Boy and his adventures as he teams up with the hotel's eccentric concierge, Gustav, to hide a painting and figure out who killed its previous owner, a very...close...friend of Gustav's. It's a fantastic comedy, and made me laugh a lot (just what I needed right now). The score too I would like to mention was just wonderful! It suited the film in everyway, odd but charming. I definitely want it ASAP. The acting too was awesome. Special mention to Ralph Fiennes who was every bit the camp, endearing and hilarious host he was meant to portray. Tilde Swinton was hardly in the film and I almost didn't recognise her, the make-up effects they used to age her were very clever indeed!

Above all though I adored the scenery. The film was so vivid in it's imagery and I loved the bright and captivating colours they used, making some shots look painted. It was a beautiful effect and very impressive, highlighting the 'storytelling' vibe they were going for. What a wonderful, eclectic film. I definitely recommend it if you get a chance to see it! Tomorrow I'm round Mat's for most of the day, followed by a Tech slot at Uni in the evening, then I'm staying at a friends!

Daily Shenanigans, 14/03/2014: Gridlock!

Well, my ideas for today's particular post have been a little ruined I'm afraid. I knew that I wouldn't have much to say, but I did plan on going to the Cinema today to watch 'The Grand Budapest Hotel' with Mat! Unfortunately, the traffic on our journey was total chaos and we spent a good ten minutes sat totally still waiting to pull out of a packed roundabout exit. After realising we had five minutes till the film started, we thought it best to just go home. We plan to go tomorrow instead, which I'm very much looking forward to, but it means that I can't talk about it today! Darn!

So this morning I did quite a bit more blog planning as it happens. I have a really busy week coming up (I've mentioned this so many times) and so I want to be sure that blog-wise, everything can still go to schedule and I will have no problems writing posts as well as getting all my assignments over and done with! I also did a massive amount of reading this morning, which I'm very chuffed about. The book today was 'Daughter Of Smoke & Bone' (I'm switching between my two current reads to try and make more progress) and just like 'The Snow Child', I am loving this book! It's so hard to put them down! I can't wait to review them both, and share my thoughts on them!

The afternoon was spent helping my Dad do a bit of tidying, but mainly dedicated to Uni coursework. I really want to get it all done this weekend if I can because then I only have to worry about my practical assignments next week (which are ridiculously stressful by themselves). I think though, if I set my mind to it, I can achieve this and actually next week will probably be okay in the end. Once it's over I am literally going to jump for joy. Literally. I then picked Mat up from the station and we drove quickly to get some fuel and drop his stuff at his house before coming back to mine. I'll take this opportunity to mention that today was absolutely gorgeous! Okay, so it was a bit nippy but the sun was actually really bright and I wore a sleeveless top for the first time in ages! I'm so glad that Summer is reminding me that it's on its way!

Mat and I spent the rest of the evening chilling at mine. You already know that we planned to go out but were prevented from doing so. It was nice to just spend a bit of time chilling out though if I'm honest, so I didn't mind too much! I definitely still want to see the film though. I'm actually going to be staying at his tomorrow so I will most likely write tomorrow's post from his place! Exciting stuff!

Life Of A Blogger: 'Favourite Place'

So here we are! My first 'Life Of A Blogger' participation post! This week's theme is 'Favourite Place'. Now, this one is quite a broad topic and can be taken in a variety of ways and so let's start closest to home and work my way out.

So to start with, my home town: Ashford. Now I have to say the town itself is not coming under this category, but the Cinema in it is definitely one of my favourite places! Yes, I know you can find Cinemas pretty much everywhere, but I go to the cinema here pretty much every week (or try to, I've been slacking a bit recently) with Mat and it's our favourite place to go out together. I've always been a huge fan of films and I just get so excited when I go, watching films that 9 times out of 10 I enjoy, and trailers for what's coming out soon. So yes, here in Ashford, the cinema is my favourite place.

Next: Pluckley. It's just on the outskirts of Ashford, and within this lovely little village, resides a very good friend of mine who I've known for years (and has recommended me most of my books). But the village itself is just so pretty! I have so many fond memories of this place and there's so much to it considering how small it is. It's in the country so upon visiting you'll find farms, woods, fields, orchards, the lot! When I was younger, my four friends and I used to explore absolutely everywhere and it was always so much fun! There's some real hidden gems that you had to actually look for to find: underground chambers and abandoned barns that we would spend the whole day exploring. I love Pluckley because of a stage in my late childhood/early teens that it represents. As well as this, Pluckley is rumoured to be the most haunted Village in England. As you can imagine, Halloween parties here were pretty fun as a result!

Another favourite place of mine? Canterbury! Now this is the place where I go to University and work every week, and so as you can imagine, I spend a lot of time here. It's a good thing I love the place then! Canterbury is a gorgeous City with cobbled streets, a beautiful Cathedral and plenty to keep you entertained on your visit! There are bookshops galore to start with so that instantly puts it in my good books, pretty much every kind of high street shop you could be after for shopping, some wonderful restaurants, and plenty of Tourist bits and bobs! Honestly I love this place and can't wait till it gets a bit more Summery because Canterbury is beautiful in the sunshine! The best bit of all for me though is the Marlowe Theatre. They put on such amazing shows there and I scan their up and coming performances very regularly. Also, anyone who lives in Kent will tell you that their yearly Pantomime is the best around! No question!

Last but certainly not least: London! Now, London hasn't always been my favourite place. I've always loved the idea of the countryside so the busy city, with it's never-ending traffic flow, and scary Tube was not my cup of tea at all to begin with. But as I've grown up, it has become a sort of second home to me. The amount of Theatre and Shopping opportunities there just override all of the bad. London is absolutely packed to the brim of places to go, sights to see, things to do, etc. that you can't help but have a good time! Mat goes to Uni there, and I go and stay with him often. I've grown to really love it and am actually going to move there after I have finished Uni back in Kent because it will make a lot of things easier for me! I can't wait!

So there we have it, my favourite places! I did have another one to add, my bedroom, but I didn't want to take a picture of it because it's a bit messy and I'm ashamed! I love these places though and hope you enjoyed reading about them as much as I enjoyed writing about them. Next week's topic is 'Travel' so I look forward to sharing my limited experience of faraway places that I've visited!

Daily Shenanigans, 01/03/2014: 'The Book Thief'.

I didn't think I was going to have an awful lot to write about today, but as it turns out, in the last few hours a number of exciting things have happened. Before that, I'll just quickly note that 'Daughter Of Smoke & Bone' arrived this morning, so only 'Tithe' left to wait for. The rest of the morning/early afternoon was a mix of watching the newish movie 'The A-Team' with Dad, while doing a great deal on my script and sorting out my Kindle a little. I enjoyed 'The A-Team', Bradley Cooper and Liam Neeson were pretty good and it was better than I thought it would be. Also, I'm glad I've got round to Kindle sorting as I really need to make a list of books that I need to get for it, there just isn't enough room in my shelves for many more books.

Mat came over after work, and about an hour later, we headed out to the cinema. Let me just say that 'The Book Thief' is my favourite book. No exceptions. Okay I obviously have other favourite books (Matilda, Pride & Prejudice, etc.) but this one I just adore. And when I heard they were making a film, there was no doubt in my mind that I had to see it. The film itself, I really liked. I think I ended up bursting into tears a good 4 or 5 times as it progressed (those who have read the book will know exactly which bits I mean) and it just took me back to the last time I had read the book and how much I cried. The acting was amazing, special mention to Geoffrey Rush and Emily Watson for really bringing Hans and Rosa Hubermann to life. Especially Rush, he just captured Hans exactly how I had always imagined him. Cheeky, good-humoured but with the weight of the world on his shoulders. Ben Schnetzer as well was a very touching Max, and his relationship with Liesel translated well to screen.

Some minor niggles, obviously they don't include everything in the book. This was expected but it meant some of my favourite quotes and screens were missed out. Death, as a character, I felt could have been made more of. He's such a prominent part of the book, and my favourite to read, but he only has a few lines in the film. Overall though, it was an amazing film, poignant and vivid. It touched me emotionally and I would love to see it again after reading the book once more, to make a better comparison between the two, and to appreciate it more. I wasn't in anyway disappointed and I think anyone who loved the book should try and see it. Some of the images you imagine from the novel are just as harrowing on screen and will remain with me for a long time.

Coming back from the cinema, my friend who is composing the music for my piece has written the first draft for it's introduction. I am so excited about this, I've listened to it and am mega pleased! I feel a little less stressed today, things are coming together a bit now. I just want the next few weeks to be over so I can enjoy my Easter holiday and focus solely on my final project before breaking up for Summer. Many people have suggested I enroll on a writing course after Uni, but I would quite like a year out from education just to work and write without other commitments to worry about. I'll see where it takes me. Talking of commitments, I received an email tonight saying that more auditions for Jesus Christ Superstar are taking place on Tuesday evening. Now I feel a bit less stressed, my dilemma is back to haunt me. They have told us they want a song from the musical, sung by the character we would like to play and I think this would be a lot easier to practice for so I'm seriously considering it. We'll see. 

Daily Shenanigans, 18/02/2014: 'Cuban Fury'

What a day I've had! It has been so productive and I can't help but feel proud of my achievements. Firstly, blogging. This is my third post today! The first was a review of Italo Calvino's 'If On A Winter's Night A Traveller', which I have linked to the appropriate book challenges that I have entered. As well as that, today was 'Top Ten Tuesday'! The theme this week was things that I love about Blogging/Reading and I found it much easier to come up with answers this week (a bit of pre-planning goes a long way). I've made a hefty start on sorting out my previous book reviews and hopefully I'll have done the rest by the end of tomorrow.

Mat came over today and to be honest (I feel terrible) I ended up ignoring him for most of the morning in the name of productivity! In my defense, he had a lot of reading to do too, it is his Reading Week after all! So I helped him to be productive too, in a sense. After a couple of hours we played some Pokemon and decided what we were going to do that afternoon. We did think about going for a drive (Wahoo! Adventure!) but it looked chilly outside, despite he fact that the rain has finally stopped! 

We went to the Cinema this evening and watched 'Cuban Fury'. The film is so funny! It stars Nick Frost who in his childhood was a Salsa star, but an encounter with a gang of bullies saw him ditch the sequinned tops and give it up. Twenty five years later, a beautiful new boss inspires him to try again in an attempt to win her love. It was a wonderful, heart-warming comedy with some great punch-lines in it and fantastic characters. I don't think I have ever hated Chris Dowd so much (not him of course, the arrogant arsehole he was playing). Olivia Colman too was wonderful, and of course the dancing in it is fantastic! I'm not used to seeing a film that has Nick Frost in it, without Simon Pegg. But watch closely, you might find that the other half of the duo isn't so absent after all!

All in all, a great day but rather tiring. I'm catching the train again tomorrow, so back to reading 'Pure' for me! I have a lecture in the morning, followed by work and a Show Preview in the evening so I will be home quite late. 

Daily Shenanigans, 01/02/2014: 'Out Of The Furnace'

Well I'm going to keep this pretty short and sweet because It's quite late, and not an awful lot happened today. In fact, most of my day involved me making some massive headway with 'Cloud Atlas' (review will be up tomorrow) and waiting for my partner to finish work. When he had, that's where the interesting part of my day really kicked in. Firstly, his family have decided that they might be getting a dog. They picked a lovely Springer Spaniel up today named Bella and I think they are rather taken with her. She's very energetic (to be expected, she's only seven months old and in a new place with new people) but very lovely. My boyfriend is head over heels and I really do hope they decide to keep her because she is so so sweet!

After a quick visit to the new dog, we had dinner and then headed out to the cinema to watch 'Out Of The Furnace', in a deluxe screen no less! There will be spoilers here so don't read if you haven't seen it yet and want to wait until you have. Admittedly the trailer never really appealed to me (except for the song they used. I spent so long trying to find it, Heart Of Gold - Demarest) but I heard many good reviews, particularly for the acting and so I gave in and decided to give it a go. The film itself I found to be a strange experience, and I came out not quite knowing where I stood. The story centres around two brothers. Rodney (Casey Affleck), who constantly gets himself in a lot of trouble, and Russell (Christian Bale) who is honest and hard-working and is desperately trying to make his brother see reason. In some strange and cruel irony, Russell seems to have the worst of luck as tragedy after tragedy seems to strike and I felt deeply sorry for him.

I was completely blown away, I would like to note, by Christian Bale's acting. I had read many a review stating that it was his best so far and honestly I can say those comments are justified. Affleck too took me by surprise, and the relationship between Rodney and Russell was just perfect, they hit the nail on the head wonderfully. Of course, what would a film be without a good villain, and let me tell you Woody Harrelson as the evil Harlan DeGroat was fantastic! He gave me such shudders with his unwavering cruelty that, without giving too much away, his end was well deserved. I came away feeling strangely empty though, totally unsure of how I should feel. On the one hand, justice had prevailed. On the other hand our poor hero was left with quite literally nothing and no one. The final shot described the feeling perfectly, showing clearly Russell sat in a dimly lit room, vacant and speechless. It was a haunting image to leave the cinema with. Overall, an emotionally harrowing film filled with a lot of violence (watch out if you don't deal well with a lot of blood) and a lot of beauty at times. I am glad that I did see the film in the end, despite it not normally being something I would watch. It was worth it just to see Bale do that. If you're a fan of his work then this is a must see.

I'm off to bed now as I'm tired and a little grumpy. I got the car back today and had a bit of a faff trying to park so I think I need to sleep before I have a fit.

"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!

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!