If the thought of a Winston Churchill film has you reminiscing warily about your stuffy old history tutorials, cast your mind back instead to the amusing & unexpected tidbits you learned about history in class – because this is the essence of Churchill.
Churchill cuts an intimidating figure, and Brian Cox has it down pat. Much like the real Churchill, Cox appears in the film as a solid, rotund man draped in a thick trench coat, gnawing like a baby with a pacifier on thick cigars in both occasions of great satisfaction and moments of abject despondence.
This film stands in time on the precipice of D-Day, and Churchill is wavering as wildly as if he too is on a precipice. He was, unbeknownst to millions of people, deeply uncertain about Operation Overlord, and did attempt to have it cancelled right up to the day prior to D-Day.
Live Q&A with Brian Cox
Brian Cox, it turns out, is very unlike his Churchill! A man with a much less clipped tone, who only issues his startlingly hoarse bellows when in character – Mr. Cox is actually a charming guest and a generous question answer.
The Q&A runs overtime with his encouragement, and we learn about his hometown connection to Churchill (Churchill was MP of Dundee from 1908 - 1922); his opinion on the arts (vital); and his secret inspiration for Churchill’s characterisation (Stewie Griffin – from Family Guy. IT MAKES SENSE!).
Churchill is a human portrayal of a man otherwise sketched as a two dimensional legend, and isn’t it always more powerful to see a human struggle to succeed? History buffs and biopic fans alike will enjoy Churchill.
Churchill is in New Zealand cinemas from Thursday 15 June.
Watch the trailer here:
Our reviewer was generously provided with complimentary tickets to an advanced screening.
Today we have a rare treat: two perspectives on a new film soon to be in cinemas! Two of our library staff were lucky enough to attend a special pre-screening of Viceroy's House, starring Hugh Bonneville and Gillian Anderson, as well as attend a Q & A with the director, Gurinder Chadha.
Viceroy's House is in cinemas from 11 May.
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Gurinder Chadha – of Bend It Like Beckham fame - has done a tremendous job of portraying a very complex historical event. The division of British India and the formation of the independent dominions of India and Pakistan resulted in devastating violence and the displacement of approximately 10-12 million individuals - including Chadha’s grandmother. Viceroy’s House focuses on the last Viceroy of India, Lord Mountbatten, as he oversees India’s bittersweet transition to independence. It’s not a light topic, nor is it simple – in fact it’s staggering, as is practically anything apropos of the kaleidoscopic realm of Indian religion and history.
But Chadha manages to make this film light in many fine ways. It’s a classic upstairs downstairs take (catch Hugh Bonneville aka Mr. Downton Abbey starring as Mountbatten) and there are plenty of chaste British laughs to be had – obliviously racist elders, long suffering wives (Gillian Anderson aka Dana Scully is expert here, naturally), Jane Austen references, posh people and their little dogs (and horses). There’s a romantic subplot that’s definitely okay to unashamedly indulge yourself in because of its serious and revolutionary context (and because Manish Dayal and Huma Qureshi are both beautiful and brilliant.)
However, none of these things are at the expense of being truly chilling, horrific and revealing. The murky dealings of the men in power are punctuated brilliantly by touching domestic scenes of bustling villages comprised of Muslim, Hindu and Sikh families – and by shocking archival footage of the massacres that eradicated many of these communities. Without spoiling anything for those not quite au fait with their British-Indian history, Viceroy’s House is a revelation of invisible networks of power, political scapegoats, and of the cost of independence - and who ultimately pays it.
I laughed, I cried, and I found Michael Gambon as General Hastings Ismay more odious than as Albert Spica in The Cook, the Thief, His Wife & Lover. Overall I give Viceroy’s House a 7/10 and highly recommend seeing it.
This review by Amber of Parnell Library.
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The timeliness of the release of this movie coincides with the 70th anniversary of the Partition of India in 1947. The end of the British Raj after 300 years of domination over India, to the birth of two nations, India and Pakistan. This in itself would be an epic task for any director to undertake. Director Gurinder Chadha (Bend it like Beckham) hasn’t disappointed.
Eight years in the making, before Downtown Abbey, a parallel is notable to Viceroy House (the building is now known as Rastrapati Bhavan). Viceroy House is a period drama with divisions, upstairs home to the last Viceroy of India, Louis Mountbatten (Hugh Bonneville, Downtown Abbey) his Vicereine Edwina (Gillian Anderson, The X-Files), below-stairs the 500 domestic servants, Hindu, Muslim and Sikh. It sets the stage with the Mountbatten’s arrival to give independence to India through to the aftermath of partition.
Inside Viceroy House multiple viewpoints are explored between the key players. It is entertaining viewing. The theme traces the mechanism, political relationships against a background of civil unrest, pro-independence challenges and a romance. A romance between two of Mountbatten’s staff, a Hindu boy, Jeet (Manish Dayal) and Aalia, a Muslim girl (Huma Quereshi). A sign…hope for the future?
Mohandas Gandhi (Neera Kabi), Jawarhal Nehru (Tanveer Ghani), Muhammad Ali Jinnah (Denzil Smith) the actors playing these roles have a physical resemblance to the people they personified. Hugh Bonneville unfortunately does not, and at times this gets in the way of a convincing portrayal of Mountbatten. Gillian Anderson showcases Edwina Mountbatten’s style and comes across as astute, showing and understanding complexities with a genuine concern for the people. A very slight hint of the Edwina - Nehru relationship.
Controversial too, is the partition map drawn up two years earlier by Winston Churchill himself; is Mountbatten thus a pawn in an pre-prepared secret war cabinet plan? With Britain’s “divide and rule” policy drawn out on religious boundaries this would bring atrocities, death, destruction, and a mass migration of 14 million people in opposite directions, Muslims to West and East Pakistan, Hindus and Sikhs to India. Death toll: one million.
A deeply personal connection for Gurinder Chadha as her own family (grandparents) were caught up in these tragic events. This movie is based on research from the British Library and guided from the book The Shadow of the Great Game, by Narendra Singh Sarile (2006). The music is composed by A.R. Rahman of Slumdog Millionaire fame. Ben Smithard’s cinematography is splendidly shot….while the use of black and white newsreels heightened the storytelling. Would I go and see it again: yes!
This review by Manjula of Avondale Library
Our reviewers were generously provided with complimentary tickets to an advanced screening.
I love finding new things and, as always, our hardworking selectors at Auckland Libraries have been busy ordering heaps of new titles to add to our collections.
It's always exciting and interesting seeing what is coming out; a new book by a favourite author, a sequel you've been waiting absolutely ages for or a title that sounds and looks intriguing that you just have to add it to your holds lists.
That Sugar Guide --- The Girl Who Fell --- Wink Poppy Midnight --- What's For Dinner --- At The Edge Of The Orchard --- See Me --- The Ice Child --- Crow of Mist and Fury --- Six of Crows --- The Glittering Court And it's not just new books that we order but new music CD's, DVDs, AudioBooks, ebooks and eaudio, magazines and a host of other things, all to enhance our collection. We find a lot of our new titles by looking through magazines and newspapers, websites, blogs, Twitter, Facebook.... you name it and our selectors are looking through it. Of course we miss things too, mostly because there is just so much information for us to look through. We is why we rely on you, our customers, to let us know if we have missed something.
If you've read some of my previous posts you'll know I have a thing for Die Hard being The only Christmas movie that everyone should watch, and not just because it has explosions and witty one-liners and action galore but because of the superb Alan Rickman.
Forget Bruce Willis.
Alan Rickman is the man. Charming, debonair with just the right amount of snark and a voice that could turn you into a swoony puddle.
It's no wonder he made such wickedly wonderful villains.
Then again he was pretty much wonderful in everything he did. Whether as the suave Hans Gruber in Die Hard or as the evil Sheriff in Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves or as a the romantic ghost in Truly, Madly, Deeply; if he was in a movie you just knew you had to watch it just for him a lone.
With his sudden passing binge watching all his movies seems like the perfect thing to do so why not check out some of his best work
What is it about watching the same movie or TV show over and over? Why do some books survive repeat readings? Well, it’s partly because with reconsumption you pick up on different aspects of the story – details that you missed the first time, or the tenth time. And partly it’s your brain wanting that reliable reward - every time, guaranteed - whether that reward is delight, thrills, or consolation. It’s also a way to gain insight into your own life and gauge how you’ve changed over time.
Anyone with kids will know that they love to have the same stories read to them, over and over and OVER. It’s comforting and familiar, and repetition has some actual sciencey benefits too: children learn vocab much faster through repeat readings and they gain a deeper comprehension of, say, exactly where is Spot.
We’re going way back here, but for me as a tween (although tweens hadn’t been invented then) my most-thrashed movie was the Parent Trap (1961) starring Hayley Mills AND Hayley Mills (see what they did there??). This was when you had to rent movies on VHS from your local video store – there were no easy downloads straight to your phone – but I still managed to borrow it so often that I learned all the dialogue by heart AND drove my family completely crazy.
When I re-watched it as an adult I was absolutely shocked at how TERRIBLE the story is! But it's good-terrible. Hayley Mills stars as identical twins, Sharon and Susan, who were separated from each other as babies when their parents divorced. Each parent took a kid, Dad took Susan to California and Mom took Sharon to Boston, and they never told them about their sister. Can you imagine? These details are just glossed over in the movie. It’s Disney. There is no bitterness, no family therapy, not even a “how could you lie to me for my whole life?!”
The twins meet at summer camp and decide to switch places. (Sample quote: “You must bring Mother to California. Boston is no place to rekindle a romance.”) I think this was the big draw card for me: an opportunity to have a complete change of scene for a while: new city, new family – what fun! The twins have a good old time meeting their long lost parent and plot to get them to meet and fall in love again. (At confession time: “Let’s get this straight. I’m not Sharon I’m Susan. Sharon – your Sharon – is out in California with Daddy, swimming, riding and having a keen time while I’m stuck here with these lousy music lessons and I hate them!”) The spanner in the works is Dad’s new girlfriend, icy blond Vicky who’s out to get his money (Vicky: “You're a big girl now, Susan. You're old enough to understand that wonderful, delicate mystery that happens sometimes between a man and a woman.” Sharon: I know what wonderful, delicate mystery Daddy sees in you. And I can't say I blame him there, either. You're very nicely put together.”)
You get the idea: pranks, shenanigans, misunderstandings, camping. And a happy ending. Even I can still see the appeal in all that, even if the premise is seriously suspect.
Books that are better than the movie are ten cents for twelve (you know, a dime a dozen) but I really had to do some serious pondering to come up with some movies that surpassed their source material. Here’s my list of 6 movies that succeeded in spite of being based on books that were all just like blah blah blah.
American Psycho
It’s kinda hard to read a book with your eyes closed but that is how I got through ‘American Psycho’. The promising beginning soon descends into page after page of murder! madness! misogyny! mutilation! without really going anywhere - at least, nowhere that I wanted to go. The movie has all of that, but one thing the book doesn’t have but really needed: character development.
Once Were Warriors
Am I allowed to say that? The movie just made such a massive impact and was so accessible in a way that a novel could not be. Of course, the movie succeeds in part because of the depth of the source material but…it’s just BOOM! you know?
The Devil Wears Prada
A chick-lit novel about fashion would be easy to slate, but it’s actually not a bad read. It’s entertaining enough: there’s a beginning, a middle and an end. There’s just something that the movie has that the book does not: Meryl Streep. She gives her fashion editor character a depth that the book lacks.
Trainspotting
I owned this book for years before I even got past the first few pages, what with all that Scottish dialect and no speech marks. Just watch the movie, it’s so much easier. And it has a great soundtrack.
Yawns all round! But the movie has Colin Firth, so it wins by a smidge.
Anne of Green Gables
This is highly controversial of me to say, but mostly because Anne of Green Gables was technically a miniseries, not a movie. Come on! You know I’m right. The book is great, lots of chapters about Anne’s various shenanigans in Avonlea, but it’s all a bit old-timey in structure and I want a bit more direction from my novels. Many of the books’ scenes just work better after being tweaked a bit for the movie to really bring out the humour, drama and sadness. Plus, Megan Follows is the Best Anne Shirley Ever and Gilbert Blythe is a stone cold fox. Facts.
Well, I’m done dancing with the devil for now. There’s nothing left to do but invite the outpouring of offence in the comments below. Do you agree or disagree with my 6 choices? What movies do you think are better than the books? Who’s hotter, Colin Firth or Gilbert Blythe? Post your comments below!
Christmas wouldn't be Christmas without watching a least one Christmas movie. Of course it helps that that Christmas movie is Die Hard. Because Die Hard is THE only Christmas movie.
Just ask anyone.
After all it has everything that a person could want in a Christmas movie; witty one-liners, awesome villains in the form of the wickedly wonderful Alan Rickman and explosions.
How awesome is that.
There are of course a few other movies that are worth watching at Christmas time such as Die Hard 2 which manages to be almost as good as the first Die Hard movie.
Though I wouldn't recommend watching it if you're planning on flying anytime soon.
And since we're on a Christmas action kick you might want to follow these movies with The Long Kiss Goodnight which, once again, has explosions.
Then again you might feel like something a little more restful and maybe even romantic like While You Were Sleeping which is probably my second favourite Christmas movie. And of course you can always follow it up with Serendipity starring John Cusack, who like Johnny Depp, never seems to age and maybe a screening of Bridget Jones's Diary.
And all I need to say about that movie is Colin Firth.
You could also combine romance with a little bit of history and Englishness and watch The Christmas Candle
Of course if action or romance isn't your thing then Home For The Holidays may be what you are looking.
And yes I know isn't exactly a Christmas movie. Because yes it is set during Thanksgiving. But watching this or The Family Stone might just make you appreciate how wonderfully normal your family is.
As some of you may know I have a thing about Christmas. Or more exactly the Christmas of my fantasies. You know the kind.
A roaring fire, a glittering Christmas tree, a hunky guy and of course lots and lots of snow. Sadly because we have a serious lack of the later here in New Zealand I've always been a little lacklustre about celebrating Christmas.
That is until this year.
Now, suddenly, I am a Christmas maniac. Forget about the snow, there are, I have discovered, a million other ways to have a fantasy Christmas.
For the first time in my life I am being a Secret Santa courtesy of twitter. And it's awesome.
You get someone and someone gets you and you try to learn what their likes and dislikes are just from reading their tweet stream. It can, as you can imagine, be something of a challenge. Which is half the fun. Personally I can't wait to see what my Secret Santa gift giver is going to get me. O' Christmas Tree
I have a tree.
It's not a very big tree. But still I HAVE a tree.
On my desk.
At work.
And it's super cute. And o so Christmasy. And glittering.
And it seems kinda perfect that Dean Winchester from my all time favourite show (aka Supernatural) is in the background too.
I hate shopping. And I hate Christmas shopping even more. But this year I've gotten smart. Because online is the way.
With just a click I can shop at my favourite stores such as T2 and Typo and new discovery Society6, which has all sort of fangirly gifts. Why I didn't do this sooner I have no idea.
I've always had a thing for the night sky. And added to my Christmas dream is the dream to one day see the Aurora Borealis. In Scandinavia no less.
Going to the Auckland Stardome at Christmas time seems kinda perfect somehow. Even better you can bring along something to donate to the City Mission or the SPCA.
“Some guys got it down … secret heroes…Tom Waits… I listen more to that kind of stuff than whatever is popular at the moment, they’re not. Just witch-doctoring up the planet, they don’t set up barriers…”
- Bob Dylan interviewed by Cameron Crowe for the Biograph boxset, 1985.
I half-remembered
this quote recently when listening to Tom Waits and wondered what being a 'secret hero' might mean.
He's a ‘secret hero’ perhaps because he's too intense or eccentric for a wider audience, but the power of his music ripples through the art form by way of covers and the respect he's gets from
other, much more famous, practitioners.
He’s a master of his craft, content to wander the back roads looking to the past for his inspiration; to the blues, folk, the music-hall and beyond. If you know it, his voice is instantly recognizable. It can be a mighty roar, a tender croon or a wild man's howl he uses to bring the misfits, loners and losers of his songs to life.
Possibly Tom Waits’ songs are better known than him. Most people know Rod Stewart's cover of ‘DowntownTrain’ or Bruce Springsteen’s ‘Jersey Girl’ cover or some may be familiar with Scarlet Johansson’s entire album of Tom Waits songs.
My favourite Waits album is Swordfishtrombones(‘83) With this album Waits started
to get more adventurous with his songs and broke with the jazzy-bluesy
gin/whiskey/beer-soaked nighthawk image that he’d built up through the 70s.
Waits become more of a shapeshifter, more of a restless
explorer with this album. He got more adventurous with the instruments he used;
the arrangements of his songs; the stories he told. He could still conjure a
heart-breaking piano ballad like Soldier’s Things, when
inspired. But there are also songs like Shore Leavewhich
uses avant-garde instruments and traditional African and Balinese percussion to forge an eerily beautiful tale of a sailor wandering the streets of Hong
Kong missing his wife.
After this followed an incredible run of albums for
Waits: Rain Dogs, Franks
Wild Yearsculminating in the brilliant, wild Bone Machine.
And he’s still kicking - with Bad as Me(2011)
Waits finds new ways of exploring old themes and inhabiting a rich array of
characters, still impossible to pin down, to predict but somehow always Tom
Waits. Or as Neil Young
described him when Waits was inducted into the Rock and Roll hall of fame in 2011…
Thinking about Tom Waits and some of the enduring themes of his work, the affinity with outcasts, the formal mastery and experimentation made me think of another ‘secret hero’; Finnish film-maker Aki Kaurismaki.
Kaurismaki’s
films often deal with society’s most downtrodden members and like Waits, he displays
a deep compassion for the suffering for those on the fringes of society.He has a common fan in American film-maker Jim Jarmusch who has paid tribute to Kaurismaki directly in his wonderful film Night on Earth(soundtrack by Tom Waits) His influence can also be felt in the work of Wes Anderson and Richard Ayoade amongst others.
A good place
to start, if new to his work, isLe Havrehis most recent
film. The film is the tale of a young African illegal immigrant who hides out
in the French port town of Le Havre after escaping Police. The film weaves
threads of prisoner-on-the-run-thriller with wry social commentary all
shot-through with Kaurismaki's extraordinarily deadpan wit and minimalist
style.
The rhythm of his films can seem a little jarring at first,
as listening to Wait’s music can too in a different way, you need to be
patient for the rich rewards that will come if you give them a chance.
William T Volmannwas someone else that I thought of when thinking about the idea of a‘Secret hero’ He doesn’t fit so nicely into place next to Waits as Kaurismaki does. I'd be hard pressed to really liken anybody to him.
Vollmann’s books plunge headlong the deepest, darkest corners of America and other parts of the world. Vollmann writes fiction and non-fiction often blending both. Vollmann frequently crosses boundaries that other journalists or writers would never go near. He deeply immerses himself in the lives of the people he chooses to write about.
He’s explored the lives of freight-train hopping hobos, meditated on poverty, drug use and prostitution and published a seven volume essay on violence, (usefully collected into a single volume.)
One of my favourites The Rainbow Storiesmixes his experiences with ‘boot-woman’ the girlfriends of neo-Nazi
skinheads, prostitutes and drug-addicts in his neighbourhood with strangely
beautiful fictional stories.
Vollmann’s output is vast and far-reaching (I’ve barely
scratched the surface). While there is a
level of accessibility to Waits and Kaurismaki’s work, Vollmann’s asks a bit
more of the audience.
But like Waits and Kaurismaki he is a 'secret hero' to more popular writers like David Foster Wallace and Jonathan Franzen.
It will probably come as no surprise that I am addicted to trailers. I adore them x1000. In fact in some ways they are often better than the movie.
And isn't that a sad state of affairs.
The following trailers though only make me want to see the movie even more. Which is exactly what a trailer should do. Hopefully they will also make you want to read the book. Because yes, all these trailers are based on books.
So why not check them all out. While you do that I'll be watching even more trailers. All in the name of work.
"With his wife's disappearance having become the focus of an intense media circus, a man sees the spotlight turning on him. Then again is he as innocent as he seems..."
"Every day Christine wakes up not knowing where she is. Her memories disappear every time she falls asleep. In an effort to jog her memory she starts a journal but one day a terrifying truth emerges, forcing her to question everything she has been told."
"Given his lifetime assignment at the Ceremony of Twelve, Jonas becomes the receiver of memories shared by only one other in his community and discovers the terrible truth about the society in which he lives."
"When their father passes away, four grown siblings are forced to returned to their childhood home and live under the same roof for a week, along with various family members and friends. Sometimes there can be too much closeness..."
"An Indian family moves to France and opens a restaurant across the street from a Michelin-starred French restaurant run by the indomitable Madame Mallory."
I'm sure many of you would have seen on Google this week that it would've been Audrey Hepburn's 85th birthday on the 4th of May 2014. Audrey is my absolute favourite actress so I couldn't let the occasion go by without writing a blog post about her.
She had a very interesting life not only with her career as an actress but growing up during the second world war and her humanitarian work in later life. Her son Sean Hepburn-Ferrer wrote a book about her entitled Audrey Hepburn, Elegant Spirit if you want to know more about her life. We also have quite a lot of the films she starred in so make sure you watch those sometime. I personally love her in Sabrina so try to at least watch that or the iconic Breakfast at Tiffany's.
I've been sick the past week so all I've been doing is staying in bed and watching movies, they were all relatively new so I thought I would share with you a few of my favourites out of the pile I watched. Frozen
I'm a huge Disney fan so I was super excited when Disney's Frozen came out. I love what they're doing with Disney Princesses now too, no more of this giving your voice away for a guy you don't even know shizz. Elsa and Anna are total bad asses and much more human than Disney Princesses of the past. This movie is so much fun that I went out and bought the soundtrack... I really like musicals.
I wasn't expecting to like this movie but I really did! I kind of assumed it would be a tons of explosions, no plot line kind of movie but it was actually very interesting. I did find it quite stressful in parts because I was getting so into the story line but I think that's quite a good thing really. I can totally see why this movie got the Oscar for visual effects and other technical aspects of the film, it really is amazing to see what they can create these days.
I watched this just a couple of days after watching Gravity and it was amazing to watch Sandra Bullock go from an Astronaut in the very serious and dramatic Gravity to an FBI Agent in The Heat which is pure comedy. This movie is hilarious. Melissa McCarthy is just as funny as Sandra Bullock and the two of them together is just magical. I really hope they do another movie together.
I really hope they do this amazing book justice but after seeing the movie version of The Book Thief I have hope! The book is always better than the movie though so I'm not going to get my hopes up too high.
It's hard to believe that it's been a full year since I last wrote one of these blog posts, it feels like it's only been a few months! Once again this isn't a blog post about my favourite things released in 2013 it's a blog post about my favourite things that I discovered in 2013.
TV Shows My fellow bloggers finally talked me into watching Supernatural and they were right, it's awesome. I looooooooove Pretty Little Liars which I wasn't expecting and re watching Outrageous Fortune and McLeod's Daughters has been awesome. Not as awesome as Parks and Rec which has replaced 30 Rock as my weekly obsession. Pretty Little Liars Supernatural McLeod's Daughters Parks and Recreation Outrageous Fortune
Movies One chance was one of the sweetest, happiest movies I've ever seen and I absolutely loved it! Plus James Cordon is in at and he is one of my favourite actors. Django was super violent and disturbing but wonderful and don't even get me started on Catfish one of the craziest documentaries I've ever seen!
Forget getting together with extended family or the chance to finally spring-clean your house, now it's actually summer. Christmas is a time to catch up on all the great films and shows you missed out on during the year. All you need is 15 minutes of sun per day to get your recommended dose of vitamin D. The rest of the time, draw your blinds, relax your eyes from the harsh glare, and float away on a wave of unreality.
(If you really will miss removing sand from your orifices and clothing and sheets for days on end, I recommend eating mince pies or chips in bed while you watch. Ready-salted chips provide the greatest seaside authenticity. Or you could just explode a beanbag and sit on the filling after turning on your fan heater.)
Scriven's picks for best holiday watching:
Lulu and the Bankrobber
This TV show is a bit like a Danish Outrageous Fortune - if you're not afraid of subtitles, you really should take a look. Lulu is the fond but long-suffering fiancee of Leon, who has a long criminal past and some very dodgy friends and family. When he's arrested just after saying "I do" at their wedding, it's up to Lulu to find out exactly why and save their house from foreclosure. Leon swears he's been framed, but can she really trust him? Cue various encounters with lawyers, Serbian prostitutes, Turkish mobsters, motorcycle gangs, suspicious cops, hormonal teenagers and lots more. By turns scary, funny and touching, you'll want to watch right to the end. If you like this, also try The Bridge.
The Angels' Share
A Ken Loach movie that's a bit more uplifting than usual. A group of Scottish petty crims on a community work programme come up with a plan to get them out of their dead-end lives for good. I won't spoil the plot, but it involves some very rare whisky, some very clever tactics and that fantastic, dark Scottish humour, with Loach's fantastic eye for the realities of British life. A wee gem.
Despicable Me 2
One for the whole family. If you haven't seen it yet, buy it or rent one of our bestseller copies. You've no hope of getting it before April otherwise. Those little minions are back, every bit as yellow, cute and punchy as ever, in a plot that involves former archvillain Gru going undercover to find a mystery nemesis who's stolen a potentially dangerous substance that turns cute little things into violent purple monsters. I think you can guess where this leads...
Argo
Now's your chance to see this, if you haven't. Nailbiting and funny, and beautifully shot, it's the Oscar-winner by Ben Affleck about the 1980 siege of the US embassy in Iran, and how they managed to smuggle some American embassy staff out of the country under cover as Canadian film-makers. Deserves the hype.
Much Ado About Nothing
Haven't seen this yet, but it's by Joss Whedon, he of Buffy the Vampire Slayer and so forth, and I personally can't wait to see what he's done with the play. It was shot over just a few days at Whedon's house, starring a whole bunch of unknown actors, and it's been updated and given the Whedon treatment. It's got great reviews.
Wreck-It Ralph
Another family movie that's actually a lot better than it sounds. I was a bit dubious about watching a movie with video game characters from the 80s (or pretend ones, anyway) and a villain who wants to be a hero. I mean, it just sounded so cheesy. But it had a lot of heart, some sarcastic humour and some really great chase scenes and I actually thoroughly enjoyed myself. Kids will love it - and maybe you will too.
The Bletchley Circle
Those of you who like Call the Midwife may not have come across this short TV series set during the 1950s. A group of women were codebreakers at Bletchley Park during World War II, and are rather adrift now that the war is over. Until one of them decides to hunt down a serial killer by charting patterns in his behaviour, even when the cops think they're mad. More sisters doing it for themselves.
And if you haven't seen The Hobbit yet, it's probably about time you did. Not Jackson's best, admittedly, but the scenery's fantastic, and Martin Freeman makes it all worth watching. Plus number two is supposed to be pretty awesome, and you won't know who all those people being toasted and eaten are if you haven't seen this. You know you want to see the dragon. So get to it.
As you probably know by now I love and adore a lot of things. I'm obsessive and addictive that way. So it may come as something as a surprise to find out that there are some things that do kind of annoy me - just a little - okay maybe a lot.
Not liking something is really okay because it would be a pretty boring world if we all liked or disliked the same things, so taking my inspiration from Scriven and Laura here is my list of things that bug the hell out of me.
Reality Shows
All of them. Really. They should all just die a fiery death
Action movies with romantic interludes
Please just because I'm a chick I don't need to have romance thrown just for the sake of it. I'd see a romance movie if I did. I want shoot them up, blow them up and hold the smooching for another movie.
I hate you, you hate me but hey lets fall in love
I love a good love story but what really irritates me are shows like Bones and Castle and others where they hate each at first sight but you just know that the shows creators are planning on for them to fall in love - they just stretch it out for a REALLY long time. Come on people just jump each other and have sex in the 1st episode and then we can all be happy.
Literary novels (or Worthy Reads)
I know what you're thinking. I'm a librarian so I should like books that win literary prizes like the Man Booker or classics like Wuthering Heights but the truth is I don't.
I'm a trash reader. I've learned to accept it, embrace even. Trash is good people.
Hunger Games and Jennifer Lawrence
Sorry I just don't get the fuss. Jennifer, I'm sure, is a lovely young woman but as far as wanting to see in her something whether it's Hunger Games or not I'm leaving the cinema and looking for something else.
Oh woe is me females
I lay the blame for this entirely on Twilight's shoulders.
And yes Bella I'm pointing the finger at you. Get a back bone girl and tell both Edward and Jacob to take a hike. Where have all the real men gone?
Twilight. Again. Really it has a lot to answer for. How anyone could think that Edward Cullen was a romantic hero I'll never understand. Seriously the guy was basically a stalker.
And the trend seems to have continued with a number of guys in YA fiction (Hunger Games - again) being all kinds of creepy or just plain wussy.
Give me a man with a gun, a sexy smile and a bad attitude any day.
The warmer weather and the smell of spring flowers in the air.
Spring is one of my favourite times of the year and what better way to enjoy it than by discovering a wealth of new and wonderful things for me to indulge in. As usual in my normal obsessive way, I've become addicted to a new TV show and some new music. All of which I have added to my already massive list of things I'm addicted to.
I *adore* this show. It has become my new obsession over the past few weeks and I have been marathoning it like madly. It's a bit like White Collar meets Boston Legal with a slightly more cut throat edge to it.
It also has Harvey Specter. A man with a gravelling voice. He also has moles (and my TW cohorts know what this means) and wears designer suits and has the whole bad boy vibe going for him. You just knew that I was going to be fan just for him alone. The fact that it's a great show with some great 50's and 60's jazz, blues and soul music just makes it all the better Oh Land
A Danish singer/songwriter who lives in the US, Oh Land is a recent and accidental discovery for me, courtesy once again of the YouTube sidebar - which is my bestest friend as far as finding music and a whole lot of other interesting things.
Best describe as a boppy and catchy Bjork, my current two favourites of hers are Sun of a Gun and White Nights
Just as YouTube's sidebar is my bestest friend, Amazon's lists of music and artists to watch out for is probably my second best friend in terms of finding great music to listen to.
Just listening to this album it is easy to see why they won Rock Song of the Year at this year's Teen Choice awards. My personal favourite is Working Man which I've been playing constantly.
Secondhand rapture / MS MR
I've been waiting for this album ever since I heard the song Bones on the season 3 trailer for Game of Thrones at the end of last year.
A versatile duo, each song of this album is different and shows just how talented they are.
Along with Bones, an epic, lyrical song that was just so suited for the Game of Thrones trailer, my other favourite is Salty Sweet, a modern jazz/pop song.
Like many I can hardly wait for the release of this film but until then this and the other books in the series will have to do.
I actually read this, the first book, when it first came out. Now though I have finally gotten around to getting the other books in the series and am reading it again.
Futuristic dystopia, this is exactly my kind of book. It's exciting stuff and if f you haven't read it and the rest in the series I highly recommend that you do - at least before the demand for it sky rockets.
And for those of us who are waiting for the film's release in Feb here is a picture of the main star Dylan O'Brien, better known as Stiles in Teen Wolf (and yes that's another show that I'm highly addicted to and that you just have to watch).
