Compared to my previous weeks, I'm afraid this week has been a bit bleak. Besides the fact I went for a swim on Tuesday after work and the leaving drinks for a colleague on Friday, nothing interesting has happened.
Saturday I stayed in bed. All day. And I basically binge watched Green Wing. In last weeks blog post I mentioned that I started watching the series the previous Thursday. Well, I saw most episodes on Saturday, some on Sunday and the last ones on Monday. My colleague was so kind to lend me some DVD's a couple weeks back. We had never talked about the series until she gave me the DVD with the explanation: "I think you might like it." And right she was ^^
Green Wing is a British comedy series set in a hospital in East Hampton. The first season came out in 2004, the second in 2006. The series actually won a BAFTA award ^^ Unlike Grey's Anatomy and E.R. the focus here is completely on the relationships between the doctos, HR department and Staff Liaison. No nasty diseas, plane crashes or ferry explosions. They do cover pretty serious topics like examinations, incest, bullying, illnesses, etc. It is best to take it all with a pinch of salt. Whilst Grey's Anatomy falls under the genre 'hospital drama', this series is about 2miles out. There is some tiny bit of drama, but that can be reduced to about 30minutes out of the total 17 hours of two seasons. Safe to say it is the best remedy for the day after a Christmas party with your colleagues.
All characters are pretty stereotypical: the hot, confident surgent, the arrogant doctor (anaethesist in this case), the doctor in training with low selfesteem, the ever so perfect paediatrics, etc etc.
Not going to lie. When I was watching the first episode I had a "What the fuck am I watching?" attitude, but because my colleague recommended it I decided to at least see 3 episodes before I would judge. Sure enough, after episode three I was sold x)
Another kind warning: they swear. A lot. That 'c' word, asshole, prick, shit, twat, tits, fucking, ... They're all menionted every episode at least once. Sexual references are also made several times through every episode. Very little censorship when it comes to the verbal "diarrhea".
Sunday morning I went to Croydon to see Mockingjay part 2. I've already uploaded my review on this film which you can read here :)
I'm going to leave some clips from Green Wing here for you to enjoy and get the look and feel of the series ^^
I finally got around writing this blog post. I know I said it would go live sooner, but you know, life happend.
As you might recall, I wrote a blog post about the first book: Girl Onlin last March. Time for the sequel.
Perhaps a little summary? The book starts about 6 months after Girl Online finishes. It's summer break and Penny Porter is ready to go on tour with her rising rockgod star for a boyfriend, Noah Flynn. Along the way there are some bumps in the road, as you can expect, but will it have a happy ending?
Penny suffers from panic attacks and going on tour, being surrounded by screaming fans isn't the ideal situation. The promised outings with Noah never happen as he is too busy with his career. Her best buddy Elliot can't join her on the tour as he scored an amazing internship at a fashion magazine, but he is having trouble in paradise with his boyfriend. To top everything off there is a blackmailer. Someone wants Noah and Penny to split up. Will their relationship survive?
You might recall that I had some remarks about Girl Online (if not, here's the link to that blog post ;)). But, remarks or not, Girl Online was a page turner and I was happy to discover that Girl Online on Tour is exactly the same.
In book 1 I wasn't sold on Zoë's style of writing, but, in book two, you can tell that she is more confident in her story telling and it
really shows off. Less cringy descriptions like: "I studied his face to
see if he was lying." A few did slip through the nets, but overall, it is less cringy, less awkward. Just like book one, it's a very very very easy read, only written better :) Character developments were more in depth in this one as well. People
you thought were nice turned out not to be and visa versa.
Also, another point I mentioned about book 1, is that I struggled a bit with the chapter devision. Personally, I think you should never underestimate the importance of chapter devisions. It is part of suspension building, story flow, etc. In Girl Online on Tour they did a far better job. No remarks to make at all on that department in book number two :)
The biggest issue I had with On Tour (which lasted only until halfway through the book, then I got over it and acutally understood the message of the book) is the fact that Penny, 16 year old girl from Brighton, is on tour with her rock-tastic 18year old boyfriend without parental supervision, by the looks of it, unlimited bank account and meeting famous people left and right. So freaking unrealistic. But then again, what are the chances that we meet a soon-to-be-famous-super-talented-musician-who-happens-to-fall-head-over-heels-for-you? Exactly, nil. It is a fictional story after all. The situations Penny gets herself into are a far-from-my-bed-show. I couldn't relate to it at all. Until I got halfway through the book. Then I realised that Zoë is talking about a very grown up subject and something I can, in fact, relate to: life.
Whilst Girl Online was all about getting more confident with yourself, the pressure teenagers have these days, growing up, etc. Girl Online on Tour talks about life. How we all need to learn and grow and do what is best for ourselves and how you have to make sacrifices sometimes. Trying to figure out what you want is hard enough on your own, let alone if there is someone else in the equasion.
Just like Girl Online, this book is a page turner. I read it in less than a week! It is still a YA book, but in my opinion, the general message is way more grown up than its prequel.
Et voilà, there you (finally) have it, my thoughts on Girl Online on Tour :)
If you made it this far, thanks for reading!
xo - Sara
I CANNOT believe that the last movie in the Hunger Games franchise is now in theatres. I just cannot believe it. I still remember like it was yesterday when I saw the first movie on the silver screen back in April 2012. That is a freaking 3 and half years ago. And shortly after that I started reading the books. I read Mockingjay a bit over 3 years ago, but it feels like a blink of an eye. First symptom of adulthood. Urgh.
Anyway, about that film. Sunday morning, opening weekend, I thought I'd play is smart as I usually do. Going to the movies bright and early. Avoiding the annoying crisping noises of crisp bags and annoying teenage girls who starts giggling everytime someone kisses in the movie and think it hilarious to shine their smartphone torches in each others eyes. I'm all about commenting a movie, but that usually restricts to a laugh out loud or a "what the hell!?". Luckily they fell quite halfway through the movie, because that is exactly what Mockingjay part 2 does. It makes you go quite.
The Hunger Games: Mockingjay part 2
** SPOILERS **
2015 Director: Francis Lawrence Cast: Jennifer Lawrence, Josh Hutcherson, Liam Hemsworth, Woody Harrelson, Elizabeth Banks, Sam Claflin,... Lenght: 137min= 2h 17min Genre: Sci-Fi, adventure, YA
Part 2 picks up immediately where part 1 left off: Katniss healing from her injuries after her first encounter with Peeta after he's been rescued from the Capitol. Meanwhile the rebellion escalates and they are preparing to invade the Capitol. Katniss, still as stuborn as ever, is reluctantly the face of the rebellion and needs to make an army out of these angry slaves. All the while, she has set her mind on a special mission and is determined to see it through. And in the meantime president Coins true intentions become clear.
There is absolutely no denying in the fact that this movie is rather slow pasted. They take their time to explain certain situations, the way our tiny human brains work. If you were expecting a fast past action movie, you were probably in the wrong theatre. SPECTRE is your best bet if you're looking for something like that. In my opinion, there was absolutely no lack of action or violence. It is exactly as Suzanne Collins describes in her books. That is something you don't see often. A book translated to the silver screen, almost to the exclamation mark. The Hunger Games introduced us to the world of Panem and explained how the political system works, Catching Fire sparked the rebellion and Mockingjay part 1 was all about the propaganda. Finally, in Mockinjay part 2 they make the call to action.
The one thing that absolutely got me whilst reading the books, and now by watching this movie, was the fact how realistic the story is. Well, maybe not the put-children-in-an-arena-and-let-them-fight-to-the-death aspect, but the whole concept of tyranny, the urge for violence. And how, meaning to get rid of one tyrran, having it replaced with another sort of tyranny. With all good intentions and purposes, but still a tyrrany. The psychological aspect in this franchise, specifically in the last two movies, is not your typical sci-fi/adventure pictures. It's not all black and white like the Lord of the Rings, where Sauron and Saruman are obviously the baddies or Harry Potter were Lord Voldemort is the one we all wish to be defeated. Well, actually, I think Dolores Umbridge the most disagreable character in that whole franchise to be honest, but that is a whole different story (hehe). Anyway, Mockyjay part 2 is a good example of "things aren't always as they seem to be". It gives a clear message to how we work, how our brains work and how we must not make the same mistake twice. Or multiple times, as we are a self destructing race. There is no denying that.
It is definitely an action, sci-fi young adult drama. There are not a lot of laugh out loud moments, but every now and then they sneaked some dry humor in. Even if the script is not as strong in some scenes as in others, the strong performances of the star studded cast made up for it. Generously. Numerous occasions where the eyes may tear up a bit. A couple where there might be actual tears. Hard realities of a rebellion and war and how humanity functions. I definitely had to cover up my ears during the sequens in the sewerbeneaththe Capitol as the score made it too intens for me to bare. Those muts, brrrrrr.
Although Jennifer has outgrown the character a bit, Katniss is supposed to be 16 after all, she still delivers an incredible performance. By the end of the movie there is a specific scene where Katniss is especially vulnerable, which they did only in one take, and it's just... Heartache! It's long been established that Josh Hutcherson is the most perfect Peeta they could've cast. and Gale is well, Gale. To be honest, he never really was my favorite character. Katniss either, to be honest. I mean, she is fierce, brave, strong and overall badass, but man she is not likeable at all. Well played Suzanne, well played. Woody Harrelson got too little screen time, but is just a personal opinion x) Finnick Odair (Sam Claflin) is his true self as we've seen it in part 1. The sugar cubes are long gone, but still a heart throb. And Julianne Moore. Oooh Julianne Moore. Alma Coin. President of Panem... Well, ish ;)
** SPOILERS **
I've heard some nasty comments about the way Gale and Katniss turned out. Eventhough Gale never intended to kill Prim, he did supply Coin with the attact strategy that ultimately would lead to Prim's untimely death. How can you expect Katniss to ever be friends with him? Through out the last two films you can see that the relationship changes between Katniss and Gale. Whilst Gale is all about pay back, Katniss is more concidered of the people in the Capitol and only wishes to kill the source of it all: president Snow. It's a sad ending for their friendship, but unfortunately that thing we call life can be a bitch sometimes. Things happen and people grow apart.
The whole picture is just exactly as to how I imagined it
when I read the book. That does not happen often. Which pushes Francis
Lawrence a bit higher on my list of favorite directors. From Tigris and
her clothing shop to the parachute drop in front of President Snow
mansion. Even the execution is exactly as I had pictured it in my head when I read those words on the page. A huge round of applause for every single person who has made this movie a reality.
As per usual, enjoy some videos I found on the wonderful world of YouTube x)
Trailer
Clip
Interview
Review
I'd say, if you'd like the previous films, you will most likely like this one as well. If you've read the books (and liked the books) you will definitely like this adaptation :)
So, yet again my weekly update is late. I have no excuses this time, as I am back in London and I wasn't running around trying to meet up with all my friends and family. Yesterday (Saturday) and today (Sunday) were pretty laid back actually, but I have a tiny reason as to why I've only got to uploading my weekly update so late. Unfortunately that'll have to wait till next week as my weekly updates go from Saturday til Friday.
This week was quite a busy week. Unfortunately I have nothing to show for it. Not a good thing for someone who is writing a blog every week and where pictures are quite a big part of it... But you know, life happend. I was too busy have a splendid time :) So, you'll have to rely on my "excellent" writing skills and the odd, low quality images I do have...
The highlights for this week were: seeing my friends and family, getting back to London, watching "Breakfast at Tiffany's" for the first time ever at The Vaults, going for a swim on Wednesday evening, discovering the series Green Wing, starting to read Dragonfly in Amber by Diana Gabaldon and the office Christmas party Friday evening.
Unfortunately I don't have any images from my time in Belgium. Friday evening my eldest friends stopped by for a classic movie night. Saturday afternoon I sent to a spa with my sister and Sunday afternoon my dearest friend Molly came over. We literally chatted the entire afternoon away in a blink of an eye. Monday was an I-need-to-run-some-errands kind of day. I couldn't return to London without my usual stack of Belgian chocolat. Oh, and I got a hair cut. Hello fringe! At 7pm I had my Eurostar train back to the island. On my journey to Brussels on Thursday evening I saw the Hobbit: an unexpected journey. On my way back to London I saw the Hobbit: the desolation of Smaug. To be fair, I fell asleep halfway through the movie x) Not because it is boring. Absolutely not! I was just exhausted.
Tuesday after work I went to the Vault at Waterloo station. They have a freaking underground cinema there! I know the picture doesn't say alot, but it was soo cosy. The perfect setting to watch Breakfast at Tiffany's (1961). I had never seen that movie before. Any movie with Audrey Hepburn for that matter. And guess what. I loved it ^^
Wednesday after work I went for a swim. One blisfully mind emptying swim. It was amazing. Afterwards 5 minutes in the sauna and I was ready to head home.
The highlight of all the highlights this week was probably the Christmas party on Friday evening. Everybody was dressed up for the occassion, everybody danced and laughed. It was cool to see my colleagues in a different surrounding, away from their desks, either in a suit or in heels. It was a splendid night :) Unfortunately I don't have any pictures, but thankfully my lovely colleague and friend allowed me to use one of her's :)
That's me on the right, by the way :)
And that is a wrap for this week. This blog turned out a bit shorter than I had anticipated. Maybe a good thing I toned it down a bit, 'cause you know me. I can always find something to write about. Even about nothing x)
Apologies apologies, it's a late one this week... But in my defence, I have a good reason. I am, in fact, in Belgium at this very moment, having a little break from work and from London. It's incredible what it can do to your mood ^^ It's just been soo lovely to see some of my friends an family! Perfect timing to charge up my batteries for when I head back to London on Monday. It should be enough to get me to Christmas break.
Then, this week had its ups and downs. I had to, yet again, defend myself as to why I think SPECTRE is a good movie. I don't mind having discussions about movies. In fact, I rather enjoy them as it often gives another insight to the story. But I had to downright defend myself, which is super exhausting and in the end I just gave up. If someone can't start a conversation with "I think..." and just makes a general accusation like "That movie it so bad", I am not even bothering anymore to reply. That movie is not bad. You think that movie is bad. That's a big difference! So yeah, that wasn't so nice, but this week I also had a very interesting conversation about Interstellar, which was refreshing :)
Another major thing happened the past week. It was the fact that I passed Aidan Turner on the street Wednesday at noon. Well, it's a big deal for me. I love that guy. He's in the Hobbit, The Mortal Instruments: City of Bones, Poldark,... And yes, he does look as gorgeous in real life as he does on film x)
Last weekend was probably more interesting than my week. I went to the Bond in Motion exhibition on Sunday at Covent Garden. Safe to say I am absolutely not a 'car' person, but not going to lie, I was excited to see the Rolls Royce, Aston Martins, Mustangs, etc. These are the actual cars they've used in the movies! I simply had a
fabulous time ^^
To top things off, they had some of the original story boards on display. If you're a film geek like I am, you might understand my excitement x)
After the exhibition I did some Christmas shopping as well and had my favorite food at Costa Coffee. Oh, and I visited St Paul's church. That church you only see the back of when you're walking around Covent Garden, but you never see an entrance...
I finished reading Pride and Prejudice and Zombies (which I've reviewed) and finished reading 'Girl online on tour' by Zoe Sugg as well. That was a very easy read. In about 4 days I finished that book. That review will go live in the next few days so keep an eye on this place if you're interested in that.
And on Thursday evening I went home which was a trip I was very much looking forward to! This should set me up until the holidays, when I'll be back in Belgium in 5weeks time! Whoop whoop! ^^
So yeah, that's it for this week. Next week will probably be all about my stay back home and some bits and bobs I might have done during the week :)
"It's a truth universally acknowledged..." that is the only way Pride and Prejudice can begin. Whether it is a parody or a re-telling, you don't start P&P with any other sentence and praise the Lord that Seth Grahame-Smith didn't!
I've mentioned it already in my latest weekly blog post (Costa Christmas range, Mockingjay part 2 premiere and FREAKING CHRISTMAS LIGHTS), but I quite enjoyed reading Pride and Prejudice and Zombies. In fact, I liked it so much, I'm writing a blog post about it. Not that it'll be long'un, but I need to get my enthousiasm out there.
The story is written by, first and foremost, Jane Austen. The original story was published in 1813. Seth Grahame-Smith add a little touch to it. P&P&Z was published in 2009 and is currently being adapted to a movie!
So, the titel is basically self explanatory. It is the classic story of Elizabeth and mr Darcy that we all love and cherish. Well, most of us. I'm not saying that Austen is everybody's cup of tea. Grahame-Smith thought it would be a good idea to add zombies to it. One thing he is very clear about is the fact that he never wrote a parody. It is the exact same story, exact same characters, same style in writing, except maybe that the main character Lizzy is even more strong headed and fierce and that they find themselves in ridiculous and unrealistic situations as a full on unmentionables attack.
I'm not a zombie-apocalypse type of girl. I like my sci-fi and fantasy movies/books, sure, but I just can't stand the sight of the living dead. Give me orcs or Uruk-hai anyday! (I'm probably one of the few people left who has internet access who hasn't seen The Walking Dead yet...) Because this is a story I am very familiar with and a friend of mine had already read it, I decided to give it a go. Half the time I couldn't stop smiling 'cause A) I love that story and B) it was so ridiculous at times. With 'ridiculous' I don't mean it in a derogative manner! But when I read: "she decided to behead him upon their next meeting" and I pictured it in an Georgian setting and then compared it to the original story, I couldn't help myself but to smile. I loved it.
Beware though, that it was not written with the purpose to make a fool out of Jane Austen (you'de be very stupid indeed) or to write a parody or comedy. It is written with all the seriousness that Austen intended, but just with that little extra. I dearly hope that they'll approach the film the same way! Approach it like you would approach the original story and then add the living dead to it. I'd hate to see Jane Austen being laughed at. I'm actually excited about that movie, which are words I never thought would ever leave my mouth. Or being typed by my fingers. Whatever makes more sense.
The movie hits theatres in February or March 2016 depending on where you live, but in very restricted territories. Don't think Belgium is included in the list... I'll link the IMDb page here. I'll also leave this movie still and trailer for you to enjoy and grasp the first feeling of the movie ;)
Let me know if you've read the book or if you're going to read it! And if you're looking forward to the movie as much as I am!^^
Unlike most people in the world, I stayed indoors on Halloween. I saw the Mortal Instruments just like I did last year. Unlike last year I also bought candy. Quite a lot. 10 years ago most of it would have been gone by the end of the movie and at least one candy bag would have been empty... Now only 3 packs were opened and you could hearly tell anything was eaten from it. Never have I felt so old then last Saturday night. Well, that was up until yesterday (Friday) when I had just done a wash load with new washing powder and I wasn't sure if I liked the scent. That's when shit got real.
On Sunday I headed out to Oxford street to see the Christmas light switch on. Well, that was the plan anyway. I never really made it to Oxford street... The journey to the West End turned into a proper photoshoot as London just looked majestic in its misty autumnal sunset.
The pictures above are not even close to the West End! From London Victoria station I walked to Green Park and took the below pictures. It was such an interesting excersise for me as I don't usually take any pictures at twilight.
From Green Park I walked to Waterstones Piccadilly. The thought alone of the massive crowd on Oxford street made me really anxious and made me skip the event. Instead I bought myself a hot chocolate (what else) and sat in one of the comfy chairs at Waterstones to read my book. I liked Pride and Prejudice and Zombies much more than I anticipated. I'm actually thinking about writing a blog post about it :)
Anywho, Monday after work I headed over to Oxford Circus and Oxford street to snap some pics of the Christmas lights. Aren't they just cute. Boring, but cute. I'm really looking forward to the Bond street christmas lights and the Regent street ones! Unfortunately I'll be in Belgium when they are being switched on, but I'm so looking forward to walking to the train station via Regent street or Bond street and just see those magnificent lights.
Wednesday evening was the introduction of the Costa Christmas range! Basically the new cups were introduced and I got some free samples of every drink in their new Christmas range!!! Was such a fun evening. One of my colleagues came with me and we just chatted the entire evening away. ^^
I'm going to be very boring here when I say my all time favorite drink is the regular hot chocolate.
Thursday evening was exciting as well! It was the Mockingjay part 2 premiere in London ^^ No, I didn't get any tickets to go to the actual premiere and see the movie, but I stopped by on Leicester sq anyway ^^ I went to see the premiere last year as well, so I thought it was kind of a nice full circle :)
I kind of prefer this way sometimes. When you're invited to see the actual movie, you usually just walk on the red carpet, marvel at your surroundings and head into the theatre. Very often you're not allowed to stand still very long. "Please keep moving". Whilst when you're standing between the crowd on the square, you often have a very good view on the screens, you can see every actor and actress and listen to the actual inteviews (if the volumn is turned up anyway).
Yes, that is Sam Claflin being interviewed in front of Odeon cinema on Leicester square
The crowd was ridiculously big and the screams were even more ridiculously loud. At some point one girl (or boy) actually started screaming hysterically. I guess that's what the presence of Jennifer Lawrence, Josh Hutcherson and Liam Hemsworth can do to some people...
I'll leave the Mockingjay part 2 trailer here for you to enjoy ;)
That's it for this very exciting 43rd week. Hope you enjoyed it :)
A spontaneaous sneaky mid week blog post, this is ^^ Last weekend I stumbled, like many other lucky people, upon this awesome Instagram account. A guy by the name Chaz Hutton gives us the brutal reality. On a post-it. Genius, you might say. Well, I do anyway.
I'm taking the liberty to post some of my favorites below. If you like them, make sure you definitly check out his Instagram account and website !! :)
Een foto die is geplaatst door Insta-Chaz (@instachaaz) op
I hope you find them as funny and entertaining as I do. Especially the "Getting a front seat at the top of a double decker bus" is very accurate for me x)
That's it for this little cheecky mid week blogpost ^^ Hope you enjoyed it!
Surprise surprise! Another 'favorite movie quotes part 4' blog post. That it may inspire you to watch one of these movies ^^ If you haven't already :)
It's so fluffy I'm gonna die! - Agnes, Despicable Me
Fathers don't like to admit it when their daughters are capable of
running their own lives. It means we've become spectators. Bianca lets
me play a few innings. You’ve had me on the bench for years. - Walter
Stratford, 10 things I hate about you.
You should be kissed, every day, every hour, every minute. - Logan, the Lucky One
When you read a book as a child, it becomes a part of your
identity in a way that no other reading in your whole life does. -
Kathleen Kelly, You've Got Mail (this would be Harry Potter for me, by the way)
It's 8 seconds. That's all it is. That girl could be the rest of your life - Kate Collins, the Longest Ride
