Black Swan - There are no words

Oh, my goodness.
There really isnt a word to fully describe this film. It's ridiculous and sublime,dark and beautiful, metaphorical, yet very real. I can't criticise it, because anything that could be criticised could also be rendered as manic genius. It's so mentally tiring, yet seamlessly entertaining. In terms of storyline, well theres a girl whose a ballerina who finally gets a main part as the queen swan in swan lake. She is perfect for the part as the timid virginal white swan but not so much for the evil black one. Chaos ensues in the form of self harm, murder, female masturbation, lesbian action, mental insanity and death.
I think i really liked it, its kind of hard to tell. But i do know that its beautiful, creepy and entertaining, and that Natalie Portman gives an absolutely amazing performance.
Wow.
4/5

The Kings Speech

This is the new, and highly crictically acclaimed film and true story about king george the 6th (Colin Firth) and his stutter that terrified him and disabled him from making the speeches that a king ought. His wife (Helena Bonham Carter) finds a kooky and unconventional speech therapist (Geoffrey Rush) who eventually develops a relationship with the King, and helps him overcome his impediment.

   It is needless to say that this a beautiful and flawless film that is entertaining to watch and yet pulls on your heart strings. All the cast are superb. It is refreshing to see Helena Bonham Carter in a role, which doesnt cover her in gothic make up and back comb her hair. She is wonderful as Colin Firths counter part and proves that she doesn't just act quirky, but does in fact act extremely well. Geoffrey Rush also acts Lionel Logue very well, but it is Colin Firth, who I just wanted to hug for contributing such an amazing performance and making the film what it is. Colin Firth in real life is known for being quite shy and reserved, so coming on to screen and acting a stammer that has to get better, screaming, shouting, crying, and breaking out into fits of swearing would not be the easiest of jobs, but he does it with absolutely no difficulty, only with flourish and zest.

It looks beautiful, the acting was incredible, and it gives the audience an insight into the guilty nosy pleasure that is the royal family. Amazing. 5/5.

marriage, festivities and swedish horror films...

Wow. This has been a crazy few weeks.
So firstly i went and got engaged (not on my own, just to clarify) which is extremely exciting if not also terrifying and making me excruciatingly panicky. I mean don't get me wrong, i totally want to get married, and not just married, married to Andy who i couldn't spend my life without (bit of sentimentality for you there), but I in no way want to plan a wedding for 9 months time (yes we're getting married in september) whilst also doing a crazy stupid amount of work - or not doing, as the case is at the moment.
 Sigh.
I know what you're saying, don't get married in september then. what i would rather say is, lets not do the work then. That's how much i want to get married this year and start a new life, in a new place with the person that i love. And no, i'm not stupid, i know it is in no way easy, and some of you do think i have a screw loose for getting married young, or fast or any of the other reasons that people are throwing at me, but so what. If i know nothing else, i know that God willing, i can be a good wife and a good mother, and that's what i want to do.

So apart from that, and the normality that was christmas day, my parents and brother disapeared off to Florida, leaving me, my sister, my dog and my dvd player alone. So i did what any person would do, and bought seven new dvds. Yay. The first film that i watched was "Let the right one in" a swedish horror film about a vampire "girl" that befriends the loner boy next door. Now, I've been wanting to watch this for ages, but to be honest was a little bit scared to watch it on my own. So, armed with my sister, her boyfriend and my cushion we set out to watch the movie. I was pleasantly suprised. It wasn't as horrible as i thought it was going to be (although i'm not denying squeamish and gory parts). Moreover, there was a sweet poignancy in the relationship between Oscar and Eli (boy and vampire) that was intriguing and compelling and transcended anything else the movie wanted to throw at you. Granted, some of the conversation was clumsy between the two main characters, yet at the same time, this almost seemed fitting, and could probably be allowed.

   The next film i watched was "The disapearance of Alice Creed". This is a british gritty thriller about a girl who is kidnapped in order to get 2 million pounds off her rich father. Now, this film got really high critical acclaim. Not alot happens, yet it is still on the edge of your seat stuff, compelling and with quite alot of twists and turns that leave you quite suprised. However, this being said, it does feel a little over done at times. Some of the things that happened left me a bit like, err really? And I feel like this made it a little unrealistic and took away from the intensity of it. Overall, however, I did find it enjoyable, and i wasn't at any point bored.

   I could go on for longer, but i fear i've bored you enough. Watch this space for news on the kings speech, black swan and tangled amongst many more i'm sure. Along with a healthy rambling about wedding venue issues and how rubbish my work is going.
Happy New Year. May you have a good one.

Narnia: Voyage of the Yawn treader

It pains me to have to write a bad review about a film, that essentially bigs up Jesus, however it has to be done.

What went wrong?

Well first off there wasn't enough of Aslan in it, and the lines he came out with when he was there weren't exactly regal, more cringey. Secondly, the majority of the acting was BAD. Lucy and Edmond were as usual, stunted, slow and unemotional. Eustace, (their annoying cousin) though a irritating character was not a bad actor. Apart from all this, the storyline was slow, the plot thin, and the special effects, well, not very special.
I have to say, the highlight for me was Ben Barnes' (prince caspian) face.
Enough said.
2/5 stars.

Snow, you're boring me

I cannot begin to say how much i am bored by the 2 foot of snow that we have and the constant snow fall that is still terrorising the nation, not in the least Harthill. For goodness sake, we're people too! Come clear our roads please! The village is running out of milk and bread and soon we're going to die of starvation... Maybe a little exaggeration but i am bored of being stuck in the house.

On a happier note, it is quite nice to see all the village out, shovelling their cars out of their homemade igloos, and people furiously rushing round our tiny co-op to get the last loaf of bread and gettingg wine instead of milk (at least that's what we did). What's more is that i have been watching copious amounts of Gavin and Stacey (new found love) and a few films, such as The boy's are back (not bad but lacking) and the carriers (adequate). This morning has turned out to be okay at the moment because i found out that Glee have done a Christmas album and Last Christmas is on it! Excited.

As for work we won't talk about that, or the fact that it's half 8 in the morning and ive already been up for 2 and a half hours.

Tidy.

Harry Potter - Not awful, but not great

Ok, so not suprisingly a huge group of us went to see Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows - Part 1 last night. I had previously read some reviews to prepare myself, and they weren't overwhelming - as many of the other films aren't. So, I must admit i went into the cinema, not in a brilliant mood and with a critical mind.

 I love the books, but the films just seem to miss something, forgetting some charm. I usually account this to the often apalling acting abilities of its leads, but actually, in this film they are not bad. Daniel Radcliffe still leaves something to be desired as our main protagonist, though to be fair to him, I've discovered through the reading of the seven books that actually Harry is a pretty annoying character, so there's only so much you can do as an actor. Rupert Grint was pretty standard, bringing his light "comical" moments, and going off in a jealous strop as per usual. But for me, Emma Watson was the suprise. I've never really liked her as hermione - with the exception maybe of the first few films - she always played hermione a little too whiney and neurotic and this didn't sit right with me. However, in the Deathly Hallows, she actually puts in a really good performance, showing a more gentle and less frantic side to the character of Hermione, and actually in my opinion carries the film.

   So what else? Well, I pretty much think they should have made one four hour film, possibly with a little toilet break in the middle (no, seriously). It may seem like a book of two halves, but one half definitley has a lot more going on in it than the other, and as two films, this doesn't really work. Furthermore, to split it in half is to lose something, whether story or charisma, it is ruining the whole. This is seen in part one, in the way in which the scenes that could have been brilliant, such as Godrics Hollow and their discovery at malfoys mansion were only lingered on briefly before going back to three characters in the forest.

   This isn't an awful film, the cast are better, the mood is right, the special effects, as always are pretty special and the intentions are there. However, splitting this novel in half was a mistake and this is seen in the lack of actual action and a feeling of disjointedness.
Not awful, not great, just scrapes a 3 out of 5.

Sweet sweet music

It has been a while since I have written anything, and i guess that's because it is often too hard to express in words what I feel. Actually scrap that, it IS extremely hard to write how you feel. I am controlled too much by emotions and how I feel, especially in the last few weeks slash years.

Something which I have recently learnt that i couldn't live without, or survive without, is music.

 Music has the ability to cheer you up, or bring you down, the ability to make you smile or cry or hate yourself or love others more. It is a way to worship your God, it is a way to worship yourself, or your country, society, culture. It's a way of expressing feelings sometimes without words, and sometimes with words that just don't make sense on their own, but add a beautiful melody and an ounce of passion and you have something that means the world.

Sometimes, words just aren't enough, without the tune that strings them altogether.