23 January 2014

Films, Stress and Happiness

10:39 | Posted by
Hi!

HAPPY NEW YEAR! You can still say that half way through January, right?! And I hope you all had a fabulous Christmas :). 

So my whole "I'll talk to you next week!" thing has been working out really well, I know. Try to not be too jealous of my magnificent scheduling. Yes, it's been a while (nearly 2 months to be precise, BAD BECCA) but I do have some valid reasons! After A LOT of frantic searching I finally got a job, which was bloody marvellous. I didn't realise just how much the whole thing was stressing me out and bringing me down until I got the job, and then it felt like this massive boulder had been lifted off me. I spent a while adjusting to the new place, new people and new demands and just as I felt like I was settling in (I hope you can sense the impending doom) the place got bought over. Which meant that all our jobs were on the line, and as the newbie, I could actually feel the knife edge of the chop. Still can. We had to interview for new jobs etc etc, but I haven't got high hopes because; 1) because I'm not that way mentally inclined and 2) because I still wander about the current place in a state of confusion. So that boulder is slowly lowering back onto my shoulders, SUPER. 

This is exactly what I look like when I'm stressed.

If it hadn't been for the very inconvenient timing of the real world, I would have been uploading some life-changing reviews! For example I saw The Hunger Games: Catching Fire which was SO GOOD. The girl-crush on Jennifer Lawrence continues! Also, The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug, another incredible film, if slightly bum-numbingly long. I want a dragon. It's also ruined by best intentions to spend all my money in the cinema, WHY LIFE?! But I will prevail! 

When I'm feeling stressy, miserable and generally baffled about life, that's the best time to reach for a DVD or 6. I like concentrating on other people's problems instead of my own, because I have issues. I have a bit of a set-list when it comes to my happy place films, generally it involves anything Disney, a rom-com or 20 and comedy films galore! So here's the playlist for the next few days;

1) Easy A
2) Pitch Perfect
3) The Breakfast Club
4) Any one of the 30 Disney films that I own (or all of them...)
4) Heathers
5) Bridesmaids
6) Clueless
7) Shaun of the Dead
8) Mean Girls
9) Hot Fuzz
10) Scott Pilgrim vs. The World

Really representing the rom-coms there... Now this is only the first few days, after a while I'll have to watch some films for a good cleansing cry over somebody else's problems. I am aware how terribly creepy that sounds, I'm sorry.

I feel like this is where my obsession with films began, with trying to cheer myself up or distract myself. I remember when I was younger, the first movie my mum bought us was The Lion King (excellent choice Mama) and I used to watch it endlessly. I'd make my younger sister re-enact the entire film, poor pet had to be Scar because I INSISTED that I was always the good guy. When I was feeling lonely or sad, that film would distract for a while. As I got older, the loneliness and sadness got a bit harder to deal with, but throw on a film and for a few shining moments, I could be distracted by some ridiculously good looking people with baggage! 

I'll leave it here for this episode (I've been watching a lot of TV lately...) and I'll chat to you next week! Sorry again for my terrible scheduling, I pinky promise I will up my game. In the meantime, if you have any films you like to watch to cheer you up, drop me a comment! 

Byyyeeeeeeeeee :)
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23 November 2013

On DVD: The Wolverine

12:06 | Posted by
Hola!

 Sorry this is late, I had severe technical difficulties. Okay, I had one technical difficulty in that my iPad deleted my bloody blog post, and I've been huffing with technology since. Every time I sat down to write this, I got cross again and had to take a break.

 ANYWAY. I'm back now and acting like a grown-up and have a review for you! Wonderful. 
The Wolverine is out now on DVD, so if you want to know if it's any good before renting, just keep reading!

Starring the lovely Hugh Jackman and directed by James Mangold (Girl Interrupted, Walk the Line) this is the follow-up to 2009's X-Men Origins: Wolverine. Now, the 2009 effort was largely seen as a misstep, the storyline in general leaving a lot to be desired, so this film was an attempt to remedy any fan complaints. Of which there were A LOT. Does it succeed? Weeeelllll, sort of. 

 Wolverine (Jackman) saves Yashida (Haruhiko Yamanochi) from the Hiroshima blast in Japan, 1945. Moving to the present day and a haunted Wolverine is found by a messenger, Yukio (Rilo Fukushima) who summons him so Yashida can repay the debt. On arriving, Yashida offers him the potential answer to his pain--a cure for his immortality. All is not as it seems though and everybody seems to be hiding a secret. A kidnap plot for Yashida's granddaughter, Mariko (Tao Okamoto) is soon discovered and Wolverine is forced to help save her.

 I feel like to give an in-depth criticism of any of the X-Men films it might be necessary to have more knowledge of the comic universe, so this is very much a casual viewers opinion of the film. Just a little disclaimer!

 So the the best thing about the film, as with a lot of the X-Men films, is Hugh
Most handsome man ever?
Jackman. He is so brilliant as Wolverine and is obviously dedicated to the character. Wolverine in this film is haunted by the events of X-Men: The Last Stand, where he was forced to (SPOILERS!!) kill the love of his life, Jean Grey. When I say haunted, I do mean quite literally. Jean Grey pops up alllll over the show. Which does get a little annoying because Jackman is a talented enough actor to show us his grief and guilt, we don't need time wasted on him talking to Jean about his guilt. And this is quite a long film, clocking in at over 2 hours so it isn't entirely necessary. It also makes the love story that they shoehorn in all the more difficult to take. 

 The Japanese setting of the film is beautiful and is used quite wonderfully throughout. The culture is embedded in the film, through the idea of honour, how Mariko is treated by the male figures, the samurai swords (awesome) and the ninjas that rock up. It really is very well done. And the ninjas and samurai swords are really, very cool. The fight scenes are really pretty phenomenal.

 Speaking of samurai's, Yukio (Fukushima) is amazing. I came away from the
It's probably love.
film with a little bit of a girl-crush on her. She is so interesting and so capable and my only problem is that they don't use enough of her. Her chemistry with Jackman is so natural and obvious so it's a shame we don't see more of it.
On the other end of the spectrum, I wasn't as fussed on Mariko (Tao Okamoto). Despite apparently being excellent at karate and having great knife skills, I think she uses them once. She is effectively thrown about by the men in her life and then has to be saved. If she has the skills, why can't she use them?! I also had problems with her forced relationship with Wolverine, they don't share the chemistry that he has with Yukio so I found it hard to believe that this was the love to cure his broken heart. 

 Then comes the ending. The ending is SUCH a letdown. We're given a fairly fascinating villain in Dr.Green/Viper (Svetlanda Khodchenkova) and then she is given barely any screentime to develop and THEN someone else pops up to change the story all together. It is so disappointing, and the final fight-even for a comic book adaptation-is ridiculous. It takes away from any of the good stuff that came before and is very annoying. 

 I did quite like the film, and I think Hugh Jackman is regularly the best thing in a lot of films, but the ending is a total letdown.
If you've seen the film, let me know your thoughts! Agree? Disagree? I am open for discussion!

 Peace Out.
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