Sunday 17 March 2013

It's true what they say about sequels

Mean Girls 2... who knew this even existed? But on the eve of St Patrick's day, after having watched 3 rugby matches (that's 7 hours of rugby coverage) I felt like I was justified to open a bottle of Rose wine and watch a trashy chick flick!

#13 Mean Girls 2
My favourite type of Chick Flick? The super cliche, could write it myself High School drama! As a big fan of the original mean girls, when I saw this on Netflix I knew I had to watch!!

It's awful and amazing all at the same time. With lines such as:

“Ok so, one more time... She’s never made out with anyone ever? Or just this week?"

and

“eeew eew eew, there’s poo on my Jimmy Choo”

How could you not love this film?

3/5 Stars!

Saturday 16 March 2013

Solo Cinema Outings

Whenever I tell people I go to the cinema by myself, 99% of the time I encounter one of two reactions.
Reaction a) "Oh my goodness, that's brave I could never do that. I wish I could but I just couldn't"
Reaction b) "Oh wow... good for you" *as a look of pity at my singleness crosses their face*
1% of the time I meet people who also share my solo cinema passion!

Today was one of those days. I was supposed to go with a friend but they cancelled and I went anyway. Last week I went to see Oz the Great and Powerful on my own and today I did the same thing. I went to see Welcome to the Punch, an action thrilled directed by Eran Creevy.
#12 Welcome to the Punch

Set in London and starring James McAvoy, Mark Strong and Andrea Riseborough this film was exactly what British action thriller cinema needed. The screenplay was good, the twist was well hidden and the filming was new and original. There were a lot of very clever shots and angles; this gave the film a Hollywood feel without the Die Hard/Bourne style FX and unrealistic action. The film was gritty, well paced and enjoyable. I'd say it's worth a watch and give it 4/5 stars.

If you've never been to the cinema on your own before I would seriously recommend it. I especially love going to see films like this (Cert 15) on Saturday mornings because you often have the cinema practically to yourself, or like me this morning, a personal screening!! Also on Saturday mornings in Moviehouse Cityside (don't know about the others) it's only £3 before 12!

Wednesday 13 March 2013

What i've been reading and watching!

Reading


#8 Skellig by David Almond

#8 Skellig by David Almond
Taught this one to my Year 8's this year and it's one I'd never come across before, it's a bit strange. A Pastiche of magic realism with some darwinism thrown in there. It is a good story though, bit of a page turner and the pupil's always wanted to read on which is always a good thing!

I'd recommend it to readers aged 10-13.







Watching


#10 Amelie
#10 Amelie

The first French Film I ever watched, back when I was around 14. I did not get it, and I did not watch another french film for around 8 years! But after being introduced the the true wonders of french cinema by JC and Miss D I thought I'd give it another go. Boy am I glad I did! Funny, touching and heartwarming. 4/5 stars




#11 Oz the Great and Powerful
Number 11 was the newest offering by Disney: Oz the Great and Powerful. I went to see it in 3D (which I hate) and it worked really well. The cinema I went to had really good glasses which always makes a difference.
Mila Kunis is pretty good in this and the FX are really quite impressive. A lovely mix of film and special effects made for a pleasurable hour and a half.

Monday 4 March 2013

DO NOT READ THIS AT BEDTIME!

So book number 7 is one not to be read just before falling asleep (as I did)
This review contains spoilers so if you do want to read the book don't read the end section (it's safe to read the part after the **)
#7 Light Shining in the Forest by Paul Torday

I love crime thrillers, there's nothing better than a good detective novel or an episode of CSI! It's my favoured form of brain numbing. This book is written by the same author who wrote Salmon Fishing in the Yemen, that now mildly famous film. I haven't read it but i'd heard good things, so when I saw he had written a thriller and it was on offer on Kindle, I purchased it. I couldn't put it down, it's an absolute page turner, and whilst it was no surprise whodunit I devoured it!
The book revolves around the statistic that every 5 minutes a child in Britain goes missing. A small percentage of those children are never found again; most are runaways, but some children that are suspected to be runaways may not be...

*SPOILER ALERT*
Do not read this book at night. I read the last fifth in one sitting at bedtime- couldn't stop till I put it down, but the taxidermy and embalmment of children is something you do not want to be in your head before dreaming!
*END OF SPOILERS*

I give this book a 3.5/5 because there were some elements that I just felt didn't really work.