Soundtrack your life

Hallooooo!

Mid week blog post time!

About two weeks ago I purchased the Cinderella soundtrack CD and I have to say, best £10 I've spend in the last couple weeks. I've been listening to the album every single day. On my way to work, on my way home, when I go out to buy lunch,... I'm even listening to the CD right now!

Which inspired me to write this blog post.

I pretty much live by the phrase "escape reality". Reality can be like a bad day at work or school that is just never ending. When one thing gets solved in the world, the next idiot(s) shows up to ruin everything. Let's face it, humanity is earth biggest problem. I kind of agree with Ultron (Avengers: Age of Ultron) on that one.

When I saw Miss Congeniality for the first time so many years ago, I couldn't really understand why every single beauty pageant candidate answered "world peace" to the question: "What is the one most important thing our society needs?" Surely world peace isn't that difficult to reach? Just leave everybody alone that you don't like and if you have to work together just get on with it and make sure the job gets done. Easy! But alas, that is not how our world works. That is not how humanity works.

The terrorism threats, bullying, stress, corruption, war, crisis,... It's a constant and steady stream of trouble in human history. So the only way to get a away from that is to either not care or find a way to escape this planet for a little while. The latter is physically not really an option (unless you're an astronaut), mentally it is.


By reading books or watching a movie or an episode of a tv series, you are mentally away from the present, from reality. You forget about the stress and everything that's wrong and just have 2 blissful hours or how many pages you're reading. But whilst travelling, walking, running, cleaning, etc you can't read a book or watch a movie, can you? So, tadaaa, soundtrack your life!

Seriously, it'll make your life so much more interesting if you're listening to the score of your favorite films. Reality still looks like reality but less real. If that makes any sense?

I'll give you an example. At the office we have a playlist of soundtracks playing on the stairwell. Whilst a colleague and myself were about to set up the surprise birthday cake in the kitchen for another colleague, we were crouching on the stairs and walking on our tip toes to make sure the birthday girl wouldn't notice a thing. And to make the picture complete, the score of Mission Impossible was playing. The timing was impeccable! x)

In high school and in college I used to study for my tests and exames whilst playing soundtracks on the background. Especially the Lord of the Rings score. I listened to those CD's so many times I had to play them on shuffle because I knew by heart which song was to come next and where about in the movie the song was played...  

It can make your morning very peaceful, noon cheerful and a heroic trip home after work, depending on your movie of choice. Soundtracking my life is something I've been doing for a looong time :)

So grab the soundtracks of your favorite movies, with or without lyrics, doesn't matter and make your trips to school or to work or cleaning or cooking that more interesting.

I hope you found this tip enjoyable! Please let me know if you did!

Thanks for reading!
xo - Sara

"Don't take from my pile" Tony Stark - Avengers: Age of Ultron

Hallooooo!!

Movietime Monday people! And yes, the title is exactly what I'll be talking about: freaking AVENGERS! Just like Cinderella and Kingsmen, this movie was a loooong time coming. Plenty of teaser trailers and little hints on what was going to happen in Age of Ultron. Now, to clarify one thing: I am an MCU fan. MCU= Marvel Cinematic Universe a.k.a the marvel movies. I haven't touched a single Marvel comic book in my entire life and I have absolutely no idea what happened in the 'Age of Ultron' issue. So if you think I'm not a die hard fan, just because I haven't read the comic books, you're probably right, according to your definition of die hard fan anyway. But man, I fell in love with the MCU from the first scenes of Thor (Kenneth Branagh, duh.)

Avengers: Age of Ultron

**this blog post contains spoilers**

2015
Director: Joss Whedon
Cast: Robert Downey Jr, Chris Evans, Chris Hemsworth, Scartlett Johansson, Elizabeth Olsen, Mark Ruffalo, Jeremy Renner, Aaron Taylor-Johsnon, Samuel L. Jackson, James Spader, Paul Bettany, Cobie Smulder, Anthony Mackie,...
Lenght: 141min= 2h 21min
Genre: Sci Fi action adventure, freaking Marvel!

So the movie picks up where Captain America: Winter Soldier ended. S.H.I.E.L.D doesn't excist anymore and what's left of Hydra has a valuable weapon that the Avengers need to reclaim. That's how the movie starts, right in the action. You get some spectacular scenes, cheezy one liners and over all proper Joss-Whedon-Avengers-style-action-scenes. And yes, I laughed out loud.

But soon our superheroes encounter some new players in the field: Quicksilver (Pietro Maximoff - Aaron Taylor-Johnson) and the Scarlet Witch (Wanda Maximoff - Elizabeth Olsen). The latter's special power is to confront her victims with their worst fears and manipulate their minds. So that is what she does and it ends with Tony Stark creating artificial intelligence: Ultron. Roll credits. Just kidding. Well obviously something has to go wrong, because otherwise it would have been "roll credits" indeed. So, Ultron turns out not to be what Stark had in mind and so the Avengers assemble (get it?x)) to safe the earth from destruction once again.

So, let's use with the classic scheme to address some critical points: start with something positive, get to the negative part and end with something positive again.

1) First piece of awesome is Hawkeye, Clint Barton. Not only has he the most epic lines of the whole bunch, you get to see an entire different side of him. We all know the Avengers as a motley crew. Self made superhero Iron Man (Tony Stark - Robert Downey Jr), god of Thunder Thor (Chris Hemsworth), 1940 experiment Captain America (Steve Rogers - Chris Evans), short tempered Hulk (Bruce Banner - Mark Ruffalo), and both ex-assassins Natasha Romanoff (Black Widow - Scarlett Johansson) and Clint Barton (Jeremy Renner). All of them seem to have some sort of issue in their personal life. Iron Man has anxiety attacts. Bruce Banner has to be very careful not to loose his temper which brings some restrictions. Thor has his brother Loki. Steve Rogers lost the love of his life 70 years ago. Natasha Romanoff was basically raised not to be human,... But then you have Clint Barton who has... yes... a family. A wife and 2 kids with a 3rd on the way. A functional family no less. That was a twist I did not see coming.

2) Secondly, if you've seen Iron Man, Iron Man 2, Iron Man 3 and Avengers Assemble, you'll be familiar with Jarvis, Tony Stark's sidekick. Paul Bettany was the voice of this genius know-it-all for the 4 films, but he never showed as much as a toe on screen. But in Age of Ultron it is Paul's time to shine because he is the freaking Vision. My first reaction when I saw that was: "YES, Jarvis finally gets his time to shine!" Well, obviously he is not Jarvis anymore, but hell I'm excited for the next load of Marvel movies featuring the Vision!

3) Andy Serkis is in it.

4) The scene after the party where everyone is gathered in the living room is just marvelous (hehe). Just some friends hanging around and of course you challenge each other. So who is worthy of Mjölnir? It's such a mondane setting with an outer worldy element. Relatable, yet not so relatable.

5) The movie is much darker compared to the first Avengers movie. We get alot more inside to some of the characters, especially Natasha Romanoff. I've always wondered how she became as awesome as she is. But her story is much darker and sadder than most of the other Avengers. I can imagine that not everyone likes that element in Age of Ultron. Some people just expect a good storyline with some spectacular action sequences and not too much details about the psychological conditions of the characters. But I personally was very intrigued and yes I did some background research myself about some of the characters.

6) What happened to Betty Ross? Banner's ex-girlfrind. I know some time must have gone by, but where did the relationship between Bruce and Natasha came from? Pretty out of the blue. But I think they'd make a good couple. In the end.

7) Thor's story line seemed a bit odd to me. And personally I think he had less screen time than the others. Now, the fact that I didn't fully understood his story line might have been due to the fact that I saw the movie in English without subtitels and without replay or pauze button. So sometimes, when things were explained, I wasn't always up for the task to completely follow. So I'm sure when I see the movie again (and I assure you, I will) I'll be able to understand more and everything will make more sense.

8) The relationship between Iron Man and Cap has some tension, which is a very nice introduction to Captian America: Civil War (2016) featuring Iron Man! At one point in the movie both gentlemen are cleaving wood. And as sometimes happens, they get competitive. When Stark is called away, he says: "Don't take from my pile" as if to ensure that Rogers wouldn't cheat although Rogers' pile was already larger than Stark's x) These little lines are what makes the movie complete.

9) I understood most of the references to the previous Marvel films! Nerd alert, but it is just so awesome when you can make the connection.

10) The last scene of the movie is basically saying: buckle up, you're in for a long and awesome ride. By introducing new characters we like just as much as the original ones, they ensured the future of MCU. I'm a Scarlet Witch, Vision and Falcon fan already! Not too sure about War Machine, but might also just because I think the name isn't so catchy... Hmm... And the fact that the very last shot was cut right before the word 'assemble' is spoken, is just... Aaarhg, incredible x)

Joss Whedon did a tremendous job, but we didn't expect anything else. Besides my little remark on Thor's story line, Whedon truly gave every single character a storyline and made sure it was tide up by the end of the movie, but not too tight so there is space for an introduction to the next marvel movies.

Ah well, enjoy the trailer:

And the awesome living room scene:

This must have been sooooo much fun for the cast x)

Fox 5 DC interview

I suggest you go to the cinema the next opportunity you get and just sit back and enjoy the ride.

Please let me know if you've seen the movie or if you are going to see it!

Thanks for reading!
xo - Sara

A Little Chaos, Battersea Park and Avengers: Age of Ultron premiere

Halloooooo!!

This week was a little bit more exciting than my previous one. Well, the weekend wasn't exactly very exciting, but Tuesday evening was ^^

But first a little video that includes clips of my trip to Oxford and some clips from the Age of Ultron premiere:

Here's the link to the Tolkien day blog post (if you're interested x))

SciFiNow and Battersea Park
So, Saturday morning was, once again spent indoors. Started my day excellent with some coffee, cereal and SciFiNow.

And in the afternoon I went into full granny mode. I went to Battersea Park, had a walk around the park, then sat on a bench watchting people passing by, dogs playing fetch and generally enjoying the sun on my face.

the view from my bench

On Sunday I went to see A Little Chaos directed by Alan Rickman. Here's the link to that blog post.

And in the afternoon I saw the movie The Riot Club, which is, as it turned out, not really my kind of movie :)

Avengers: Age of Ultron European premiere @ Westfield London.
Tuesday after work I took the tube to White City to have a look at the premiere of the latest Avengers movie at Westfield London. The amount of people that were gathered in that shopping centre was insane oO Security was very high and very strict. They bark at everyone passing by to keep moving. And when you found a spot somewhere you could stand, 10min later security was there to make sure you "kept moving". But I understand that they had to shepher us like sheep. It must have been so stressfull! You have this insane crowd who are hyped about the new movie, you have an insane cast which attracts all kind of people. Some were there for Chris Evans, others for Scarlett Johansson or Robert Downey Junior. And then the die hard fans who are purely there for the movie. Anyway, I only stayed for an hour. I'm not too great with crowds...

I've told you this before, but you can actually pick out the people who are there for the movie and the people who show up just to see a celebrity. At one point I was standing next to two girls and as usual I couldn't help myself to overhear their converstation. So, Elizabeth Olsen (Scarlet Witch) was announced on the red carpet and as usual the camera's on the red carpet follow her around for a bit and the two girls standing next to me were like: "Who the f*ck is she? Move on. Next actor." So then Jeremy Renner (Hawkeye) was announced on the red carpet and the two girls again: "Who the f*ck is he? Why is he wearing his sunglasses? Such a diva. Next!". And then Aaron Taylor-Johsnon arrived on the redcarpet and the girls again: "Who the f*ck is he and who is the woman next to him? Is that his mother?" For your information, the lady standing next to Aaron was his wife, Sam Taylor-Johnson, who directed 50 shades of Grey. Some people are so ignorant.

Sam Taylor-Johnson and Aaron Taylor-Johnson

Friday after work I went to the pub with the colleagues, as one of us is leaving us at the end of the month :( But we have a new colleague as well and she seems really nice, so that was good bonding time :)

So, that's it for this week :) Keep your eyes open for a blog post about the Avengers: Age of Ultron!!

Thanks for reading!
xo - Sara

New words: Back to the drawing board= back to square one; back at your starting point

Heaven shall be here - A Little Chaos

Hallooooo

So, yesterday I went to see A Little Chaos by Alan Rickman.

I'm not going to give an intro of any sort, simply because I can't think of anything :)

So, that being said, let's plunch into my thoughts about 'A Little Chaos'.

A Little Chaos

2015
Director: Alan Rickman
Cast: Kate Winslet, Matthias Schoenaerts, Alan Rickman, Stanley Tucci, Helen McCrory, Jennifer Ehle,...
Length: 117min= 1h57min
Genre: Drama, romantic, comedy

The story is set in 17e Century, during the time of King Louis XIV. André Le Nôtre (Matthias Schoenaerts) is the principal gardener of Louis XIV, but for a new project in the gardens of Versailles, Le Nôtre is seeking for a new approach. The king is asking for heaven on earth, perfection, and sometimes you need to give something they didn't know they wanted. That is what Le Nôtre did by hiring Sabine de Barra (Kate Winslet). He designed the basics of the 'Bosquet salle de bal' and de Barra decorated it by her style, which is a little chaotic.

Now, to be 100% clear here: this is not an historical movie. Sure it is set in history, but the facts are not accurate. Well, everybody did exist and played the roll they are playing in the movie, but Sabine is completely ficticious. So you can compare it to 'Titanic' if you will. Captain Edward James Smith, Molly Brown, Thomas Andrews, etc were all real people who were the actually captain and builder of the ship and passenger on board. They simply added the characters of Jack and Rose to have a story to tell. They did the same thing here. By adding Sabine, you get an interesting story between two completely different people, two souls, who have an interesting interaction with each other and it gives you an interesting story to follow. And not only a landschap architect that designs and builds a beautiful piece in the gardens of Versailles. That would've been like showing the passengers on the RMS Titanic having breakfast... Le Nôtre is also much younger than he was in real life. So any historians out there, you've been warned!

Then, this is the first movie I have seen by the hand of Alan Rickman. Well, it is his second movie so far, so I'm sure I'll see his first picture as well at some point :) I have to say he has a very specific style. It's very 'calm'. Very beautiful. Colourful. Witty and funny script. Some very honest scenes.

Personally, I have never thought Alan Rickman as Louis XIV material, but then, why not? :) Kate Winslet gives her usual performance, which is perfection. Stanley Tucci is, as usual, the icing on the cake. And then you have Matthias Schoenaerts. I had never seen him acting in an English movie, but he did a tremendous job. Well, he did win a Cécar for most promising actor in De Rouille et d'Os (Rust and Bone). And I have to say, the pronunciation of his name in English is pretty something. MatthIas Scone-arts. Close enough x)

It's a beautiful costume drama that made me want to visit Versailles to see the 'Bosquet salle de bal'  myself! Oh, and I really want the soundtrack of this one :)

Trailer

Clip

So, that's it. If you like a good costume drama, I think you might enjoy this one :)

Thanks for reading!
xo - Sara

Princess Diana Memorial and housemate frustrations

Hallooooooo!!

This weeks blog post is going to be s h o r t.

Saturday, althought the weather was beautiful, I prefered to stay indoors and watch Downton Abbey and Loft (2008). But because I didn't want to waste the beautiful day entirely, I had a 20min walk in the neighborhood.

What Saturday looked like

Tree in my street

And then Sunday, I went to Croydon and then to the Princess Diana Memorial in Kensington Gardens. The sound of the running water just reminds me so much of Admont, Austria. You just have to close your eyes and listen and you're transported to the mountains. Because the weather was so beautiful there were a lot of people in the park. And because it is allowed to play in the water, there were a lot of families with their little ones, enjoying the first days of warm weather, celebrating by getting soaked.

Kensington Gardens

The week at the office was extremely busy, which is perfectly OK by me because that makes the time so much more interesting. And I've had my review as well, since my probation periode is over (3months). And well, I can stay, so I'm happy :)

Then, my annoyance with my housemates has reached a new height this week... Someone finds it necessary to put on the heating, even though it is above 15°C outside. And when I suggested he'd just put on a jumper, he could only say 'Oh, no no no no, no jumper'. Do you get my frustration? So I make it my job now to make sure the heating is off past 11pm, because it wouldn't be the first time that I'd wake up, soaking in sweat at 4 in the morning because my room puts a sauna shame when the heating is on. Other then my sh*tty living situation with 7 idiots, life in London is great ;)

As promised, this blog post is a short one, so, as usual, thanks for reading!!
xo - Sara

New words: to jot= to take notes; meticulous= exactly

Tamara Drewe

Hallooooooo!!

Another Movietime Monday :) My apologies that I've missed last weeks Monday blog post, but with the Easter break, my schedule was a bit messed up.

But, here is today's blog post :)

I thought about writing a blog post about Home, since that is the most recent movie I've seen, but then I realised that I was not too impressed with that movie and I would like to only write about movies that I would recommend :)

So, what movie is next on my list? Hell yeah, Tamara Drewe.

Tamara Drewe

2010
Director: Stephen Frears
Actors: Luke Evans, Gemma Arterton, Dominic Cooper, Tamsin Greig, etc.
Length: 107min= 1h 47min
Genre: Comedy, drama

The story is set in Ewedown, a ficticious village in Dorset. In such small villages everyone knows each other and gossip is never too far away. Tamara Drewe grew up in Ewedown, but escaped to London and became a columnist with a life changing nose job. When she has to return to her home town to sell her late mothers house, her world and the world of all the villagers are turned upside down. Nicholas Hardiment, serial cheater on his loyal wife Beth, is interested in the new and improved Tamara, and Andy, Tamara's ex-boyfriend, has to admit that his feelings for her are still there. But it's drummer boy Ben Sergeant who wins over Tamara's heart, or does he?

This is a proper comedy with a romantic touch. It's not Hollywood-ish nor European, but very very British with an all British top cast (except for the one American character of course). British humor, which I finally start to understand (most of the time anyway) and a portrait of an idyllic life in an idyllic village in the English countryside. Although nothing glamorous about cows... The location of Ewedown is basically where I want to end up living. Green, nice and quiet.

The ending of the movie is exactly as you think it is going to be, but in the course of the movie a couple of things happen that actually caught me by surprise! The incident with the cows is one example.

The story is based on a graphic novel by Posy Simmonds, so it is not a super hero comic book for a change! It's a comic book with a very mundane story. I haven't read the graphic novel, but apparently it is a modern rework of Thomas Hardy's 'Far From the Maddening Crowd', which I haven't read either. But I do know the story, kind of, and I can see some similarities. One girl, three gentlemen. One gentleman is just in it for the thrill of the 'hunt'n'catch', the forbidden love (Nicholas Hardiment vs. Sergeant Troy), the one that would be the best catch (Ben Sergeant vs. William Boldwood) and the one with all the good intentions (Andy Cobb vs. Gabriel Oak). But I can be wrong, of course. Anyway, through out the movie you have nods to Far From the Maddening Crowd and Thomas Hardy :) Besides the 3 love interests of Tamara, you also have the story line with Beth and writer's retreat guest Glen McCreavy and the two village girls, Jody and Casey, who cause some of  the main absurd mayhem.

It's a movie that never gets boring and makes me laugh every single time. Again and again. You've got all these different characters who react to the same situation in there own way which makes the movie so reliable.

Take it from me, this is a movie you want to watch when you're in for a full on British film with fascinating storylines that is not too heavy. The cast is just divine :)

Trailer

Clip

I hope you'll enjoy the movie as much as I do if you decide to watch it yourself :) And please let me know if you do ^^

Thanks for reading!
xo - Sara

Easter break: A Tolkien day in Oxford

Halloooooo!

First of all: I hope that everybody had a lovely Easter! Whether you eat chocolat or not ;)

Then, as I've mentioned in last weeks blog post, I went to Oxford for the day on Saturday :) Sunday and Monday were spent pretty much the same as the weekend before.

In the footsteps of John Ronald Reuel Tolkien. Sort of.

My second day of the 4 day weekend started a bit in a doze. I wake up very groggy and I couldn't find the energy to actually get out of bed so I just laid in. By 9.15am however I made up my mind that I had to get out of bed and go to Oxford, because I kept putting off that trip.

So, without any haste, I made it out the door and had a very smooth journey into the city. I hadn't had to wait long for a train to Oxford, so by 1pm I stood in the University city :)

The main reason why I wanted to go back was because I really wanted to see the Eagle and Child and the Lamb and Flag. 2 pubs where Tolkien, Lewis and some of their mates (aka the Inklings) would gather and talk about their work and exchange ideas. In one of these two pubs the first chapters of the Lord of the Rings were read out loud. In one of these two pubs Middle Earth was introduced.

I thought about getting lunch in the Eagle and Child, but there literally was a line. I'm not sure where to exactly, but I had no intention to find out, to be honest. Anyway, I saw the 'Rabbit room'. The room where the Inklings would gather, but I think it's not the original setting. And of course, one of the famous 'quotes' of Merry and Pippin x)

Anyway, I had lunch in the Giraffe (de li cious burgers!!!!!) and I did a bit of research of what else I could do. Last time I was in Oxford with my aunt, uncle and cousin, we did the guided tour in Oxford, we visited Balliol college, Sheldonian theatre, Divinity school, etc (here's the link to that blog post :)) So had already seen the most convenient places in Oxford and it being a bank holiday + Easter break for other countries in Europe it is safe to say it was busy oO

So, after a little bit of research on my phone, I decided to make it a proper Tolkien day. We passed Merton college last time I was in Oxford (the college where Tolkien taught after the war and where he most likely created Middle Earth), so I wanted to go a bit further out of city centre.

Tolkien and his wife are buried in Oxford. And when Edith passed away, Tolkien had the name Luthien engraved on the tombstone. When Tolkien passed away himself less than 2 years later, he was buried in the same grave and beneath Edith's name, his name was engraved with the name 'Beren'. If you are familiar with Tolkien's work, you'll know that Tolkien had also written the entire history of Middle Earth and not only the Lord of the Rings and the Hobbit.

'Of Luthien and Beren' is the story about an immortal woman, Luthien, and a mortal warrior, Beren. When Beren gets captured by the enemy, Luthien rescues him, but ultimately Beren dies in battle. Luthien, the powerful women that she is, persuades 'God' to restore her beloved back to life. That is the story told in a very easy way. But I think it is so touching that Tolkien sees Edith as his Luthien and when he dies, he is her Beren and they are reunited once more.

The Wolvercote cemetery is about an hour walk outside of Oxford town so I had basically an afternoon of walking. On the way to Wolvercote cemetery I passed the house Tolkien lived in from 1930-1947 when he taught at Merton College.

My plan was to catch the 5pm train back to London Paddington, but I missed the train literally by one minute. My inner Usain Bolt came out whilst I was sprinting toward the station, but to no avail.

Downton Abbey marathon part 2 and 3 and Home
Sunday, EASTER! I thought about going to the movies, but then I decided that it there was no point in leaving my room on Easter. So I stayed in all day and watched Dowton Abbey.

Violet Grantham, played by Dame Maggie Smith, is in one word genius!!! She by far my favorite character on the show.

Monday morning I went to see the movie Home. It's by the same creators of How to train your dragon 1 and 2 so I expected great things. Now, it wasn't exactly what I expected. First of all I had to ask my colleague who'd seen the movie what the movie was about because the trailer does not explain it properly. Then, I didn't think the story line was that powerful. Well, you have the classic values: family is important, don't judge someone too quickly, etc. And the animation is stunning, the colours, the soundtrack, Oh and Pig. The latter two are just beyond adorable x)

Monday afternoon consisted mostly of watching more Downton Abbey and some room tidying. Around 8pm I agreed to meet up with Camilla and some of her friends. It was a lovely evening.

So that's it for this weeks blog post :)

Thanks for reading!
xo - Sara

New words: abhorrent= repulsive; rugged= rough

5 drama movies that might interest you in 2015

Halloooooo!

Mid week blog post for you all!

5 movies in the genre 'drama' that will be release in the next 8 months. Now, not all of these movie are strictly drama, but also romantic or comedy. So take it with a pinch of salt will you ;)

Ooh, I do like a good drama. Costume drama's especially ^^

Suite Francaise
In cinema 13 March 2015 (UK). Yes, this one has already been released. I haven't seen it yet, for the simple reason that this isn't your typical Sunday morning movie. But, it stars Michelle Williams, Kristin Scott Thomas and yes, Matthias Schoenaerts. If you don't know who Matthias Schoenaerts is: he's a Belgian actor who has starred in movies like the Drop, De rouille et d'os, Loft and the Loft. I think it is really cool that someone from such a small country has so much talent that it scores him roles opposite freaking Kristin Scott Thomas, Kate Winslet, Alan Rickman and Carey Mulligan.

A Little Chaos
In cinema 17 April 2015 (UK) Another movie with Matthias Schoenaert. And Alan Rickman, Kate Winslet, Jennifer Ehle, Stanley Tucci and Helen McCrory. And Alan Rickman is the director for this picture. I mean, is there something that can go wrong? And Kate Winslet is hands down one of my favorite actors.

Far From the Maddening Crowd
In cinema 1 May 2015 (UK) It's safe to assume that 2015 will be a great year for Matthias Shoenaerts. In this picture he's playing opposite Carey Mulligan. I think we're all familiar with the title from the book written by Thomas Hardy, even if you haven't read the book. Yes, I'm one of them x) Anyway, the trailer made me actually curious, so that's why it made my top 5 :)

Aloha
In cinema 4 September 2015 (UK). I think a lot of you would classify this movie as a chick flick as there is a romantic storyline involved. But I think there might be more to it. The trailer doesn't give away too much, but judging by the brief glimpses of Rachel McAdams, John Krasinski, Emma Stone and Bradley Cooper it's not your every day feel good movie. But of course, I'll know for sure when I've seen the movie :) And it looks like a proper funny movie as well, so not too heavy to be a full on drama.

Everest
In cinema 2 October 2015 (UK). Another remake of the tragic story of a climbing expidition the on Mount Everest. Although I suspect this movie to be more Hollywood-ish and not as much like a documentary like Everest (1998). It has an amazing cast with Jack Gyllenhaal, Keira Knightley and Emily Watson. There is no trailer available for this movie yet.

Et voila, there you go. If you like a good drama movie from time to time, one of these might suite you :) I hope you've found some inspiration here :)

As always, thanks for reading!
xo - Sara

The real glass slipper, Downton Abbey and The Travel Book Co in Notting Hill

Halloooooo!!

This weeks blog post will be, yet again, all about Cinderella. Well, also a bit about Downton Abbey and Notting Hill x)

Saturday 28th March I saw Cinderella for the first time. This week I also I discovered Downton Abbey and I went to the Cinderella Exhibition on Leicester Square.

Saturday 28th March: Cinderella
Okay, D-day might be a bit too strong, but hell I was excited. The weird thing is, I never really was a die hard Disney princess fan. Sure, I'd dress up as a princess when I was little and yes, I loved watching Cinderella, Beauty and the Beast, Snow White, etc. But come to think of it, if I have to choose between, let's say: Snow White and Lady and the Tramp. I will choose Lady and the Tramp. Or Beauty and the Beast and Pocahontas. You bet I'd choose Pocahontas. So why am I so head over heels for this live action Cinderella story? And no, it's not Richard Madden as prince Charming.

I think it might be the combination between a Disney fairytale that takes me right back to my childhood, Kenneth Branagh who works his magic and a world I can completely lose myself in. It's just magical with a hint of reality. Which makes it twice as hard to return to reality.

So, on Saturday morning, I got out of bed. Safe to say I was still sleeping, because I thought it was Sunday and the clocks had changed. Confused as I was, I changed all my clocks and got ready to leave the house. Upon my arrival in Croydon, I bought myself a hot chocolat at Costa and made my way to Vue Croydon. Whilst walking towards the theatre, it hit me that it was only Saturday and that it was only 9.10am and not 10.10am... Well that gave me an hour and 15min to kill... Always dangerous when there is an HMV in a 1mile radius! After finishing my cup of hot cocoa and my Ben's cookie for breakfast I delved in the wonderful world of movies and DVD's.

An hour later, I emerged again with 3 new purchases. I told you it was dangerous.

Whilst sitting in the theatres I couldn't help but smile. I knew my expectations were sky high, but I had all the faith in Sir Kenneth Branagh. Thank god it was Saturday morning and the theatres was as good as empty, because I could not help myself to blink away a few tears :) I can't wait for the movie to be released on DVD so I can watch it again and again and again.

Once I was back home, I had to take my mind of the movie and what better way to do that then to start a new tv series? That's right, I discovered Downton Abbey x) Let's just say it's been one week and I'm already half way season 3 x)

Sunday was just a Downton Abbey marathon x)

Good Friday is a day off!
In UK Good Friday and Easter Monday are two bank holidays. So we'd have an extra long weekend :) Last week ended, and this Easter weekend started off splendid :)

Thanks to one of my colleagues, Phil, I was able to get a VIP ticket to see the Cinderella exhibition on Leicester Square. Now, that VIP ticket didn't entail any perks besides the fact that they let you pass all the people who are waiting in line.

Friday morning, I arrived at Leicester Square around 9.45am. 15min left to eat breakfast. The exhibition opened at 10am and there was already a line to get in! But thanks to my ticket I was the first in line to enter the exhibition ^^

And it was beautiful! Unfortunatly I didn't check my camera before I left the house and of course it was out of battery. So I had to take pictures with my phone and that quality just isn't the best... Ah well.

The sets are a replica of what they used in the film, but all the props and costumes are the ones they used and wore in the film :) That massive blue dress looks as impressive in person as it does on the big screen.

In each 'room' stood someone to give some explanations and facts about that particular room. What I noticed was that every single one of these staff members were male. And they were amazing with all the little girls who wanted to see the real Cinderella dress. My faith in humanity is restored :)

After the exhibition I saw the movie and I went to Notting Hill. I meant to go for quite some time now, but I never found the right moment. Well, until Friday :) I wanted to go to Portobello Road to find a teapot. I always think it is such a shame to only use a teabag once. So when using a teapot you'll have at least 3 lovely cups of tea out of one bag. Very efficient :) It was not an easy decision, but I could not help but admit to the fact that I fell in love with this particular model and I would have regretted it not buying it in the first place and ending up going back at a less suitable time...

Mrs. Potts, is that you?

And as I was in the neighbourhood, I thought I'd find the Notting Hill bookshop. The one they used as an inspiration for the bookshop in the movie. Besides the fact that this is a movie location, it's also a lovely book store. I've found some very beautiful editions of Pride and Prejudice, Sense and Sensibility, Jane Eyre, Sherlock Holmes,... And not too expensive. I think I'll be going back to have a proper look :)

After Notting Hill I went back home and watched the Princess Diaries 1 and 2, just because :)

And that is where I'll end this weeks blog post as Saturday will be the beginning of next weeks blog post. If that makes any sense. And it was fun! I went to Oxford again :)

Thanks for reading!
xo - Sara

New words: snazzy= to be well dressed; taciturn= silent

6 sci fi movies to look forward to in 2015 :)

Hallooooo!

My apologies it's one day later than usual, but here he is: 6 sci fi movies I am looking forward to in 2015 :)

Let's just get on with it, shall we? :)

Seventh Son
In cinema 27 March 2015 (UK) Yes, this movie is already in theatres. Lucky us! :) I'm definitely
going to see it in the next couple weeks I think :) I've seen the trailer a few months ago as well, so it's
been a long time coming! :)

Avengers: Age of Ultron
In cinema 23 April 2015 (UK) Just 3 weeks of waiting left! As a superhero movie fan, this is the ultimate cheese. It'll be the first Marvel movie with Thor but without Loki though and you kind of link the two together. Should be interesting x) I'm stocked!

It looks a bit 'heavier' than the previous Marvel movies with Thor, Cap, Start, etc. But I bet they'll keep in the humor ^^ You'll find me in theatre opening weekend x)

Ant-Man
In cinema 17 July 2015 (UK) Although the title doesn't really get me excited, I mean ANT man (yuk), Paul Rudd is the hero of the day so that is enough. Admittedly I do not like every single movie Paul has starred in, and he would not be the first actor that comes to my mind if I had to cast someone to play a superhero, but after seeing this trailer, I've changed my mind. And I believe Rudd will be a convincing Ant Man. I'm looking forward to it :)

Fantastic Four
In cinema 6 August 2015 (UK) Never seen the previous Fantastic 4 movies. Don't ask me why, but for some reason it just didn't look too good to me... I'll probably will change that before I'll go see this movie though. Or maybe after. Or maybe not. Anyway this trailer looks good to me :)

Pixels
In cinema 12 August 2015 (UK). I haven't seen too much about this movie just yet, as the first trailer was only released last week. But if you have a look at the cast: Adam Sandler, Peter Dinklage, Ashley Benson, Michelle Monaghan, Kevin James, Sean Bean,... It doesn't look too bad. And it is directed by freaking Chris Columbus (Any Harry Potter fans? :))

The Martian
In cinema 27 November 2015 (UK) There is no trailer available yet for this one, as it is more than 6 months away from being released. It's starring Matt Damon, Kate Mara, Kristen Wiig,... It's promising to be good'un x) An astronaut gets out of course in space and lands on Mars. He needs to find a way to survive there. I think that not-so-realistic-but-realistic story line sounds promising :) As long as it'll not be too serious!

I named this post 6 sci fi movies, but of course these are more than sci fi movies. They are action packed, adventurous, funny, etc. It's difficult to just choose one genre for these kind of movies.

So, I hope I've convinced one of you to see one of these movies and please let me know which one :)

Thanks for reading!
xo - Sara