A trip to the movies

I went to the Coronet cinema at Notting Hill Gate last Monday night to see The Ides of March (which was a pretty good film - always nice to see people like Clooney & Gosling doing a 'thinker'). 

The cinema itself is beautiful! 

It totally feels like you're going to the theater to see a play. We sat up on the balcony, but there were seats in the 'stalls' too. 

To be honest, I think sitting up top was probably best, because the seats are all tiered ensuring a really great view (because there's nothing more annoying than sitting through a film & watching the back of someone's head...)

And what really sold it to me in the first place, was the fact it's only £3.50 on a Tuesday - any film, any time. Amazing. 

Currently making plans to go back & see The Rum Diary, which looks pretty epic! 

The Greek.

Recently I've been reading My Sisters Keeper, a book (& now a film) by Jodi Picoult.
The books basically about a child who was genitally made in order to save her older sister, who has leukemia. It raises several different & difficult issues regarding morals & ethics surrounding things like test-tube babies, stem cell research, etc.
The book overall, I thought, was good in that it taught me a lot about the legal issues regarding morals & ethics, as well as the medical concerns about things such as stem cells, as well as how diseases like leukemia are treated.
 The only problem I had was that you could see the logical ending to the book, which stopped me from enjoying it as much as I could have. However, it was very well written & because there were a couple of unanswered questions which did keep me reading 'till the end.
 One thing that I did really enjoy about the book, was that the father was a keen armature astronomer & every now & again, it would tie-in a story about greek mythology.
One of the stories I enjoyed most, I have decided to share here;

Fire & hope are connected. The way the Greeks told it, Zeus put Prometheus & Epimetheus in charge of creating life on earth. Epimetheus made the animals, giving out bonuses like swiftness and strength & fur & wings. By the time Prometheus made man, all the best qualities had been given out. He settled for making them walk upright, & he gave them fire.

Zeus, pissed off, took it away. But Prometheus saw his pride & joy shivering & unable to cook. He lit a torch from the sun & brought it to man again. To punish Prometheus, Zeus has him chained to a rock, where an eagle fed on his liver. To punish man, Zeus created the first woman - Pandora - & gave her a gift, a box, she was forbidden to open.

 Pandora's curiosity got the best of her, & one day she opened that box. Out came the plagues & misery & mischief. She managed to shut the lid tight before hope escaped. It's the only weapon we have left to fight the others.

This, I like. I think the Greeks had a lot of really cool stories to explain things they didn't understand. I might have a look at some more sometime.
Whaddya think?
xo

What a week!

Apologies for the lack of posts recently, but it's all been a little hectic recently! But I will start from the beginning anyhow;

Since I last posted, I have moved to London (finally)! Which is pretty exciting. I'm currently living with my Gran, in the lovely area of Southfields (where the highly artistic arrows are pointing);

It's a really nice place to live, because it only takes me about 20 minutes into central, but isn't too noisy, busy, or 'stabby'. & as for living with the Gran - it's lush! Getting used to having dinner cooked for me again is ace! Although I can just see myself adopting her phrases such as "woppit" (a term of endearment), "the hairy clappers" (a speed...as in, "it goes like the hairy clappers!"), & "widder, widder, widder"(when paraphrasing someone else)...


In the days leading up to moving day I didn't really do much, except pack! Which I have now decided I hate, partly because it makes me feel as though I have far too much stuff! Which is clearly not true...probably.
But for my last night (after some frantic last-minute packing), my beautiful friends came out for what turned out to be the best night out I've had in ages!
We managed to take 141 pictures. Shocking! To be fair though, most of them were of the boys, who got on like a house on fire;

(Dan, Jd & Adam)

& there were a couple of nice group-shots too;

(Me, Dan, Jd, Sj, Adam & Helen)

After that, the night got a little messy & we all seemed to be slightly worse for wear!

(Joe, Simon, Adam & Helen)

I think the only down point of the night was that in the morning, I woke up (at 8 o'clock) to find I'd left the electric blanket on all night & was cooking slowly...not fun! But all in all, it was lovely <3

The following day consisted of shopping with The Mother for "work appropriate" clothes, due to the fact that everything else I owned was apparently "scruffy". I prefer the term "casual", thanks! 

Then it was more packing, & driving to London (for her, not me). When in London we just had time to swiftly dump everything in my new room - pictures to follow - before heading out for an Indian with my Gran!

The Indian was really good! It's a local place in Southfields, but I can't remember what it was called! Next time I go past, I'll have a look & try to update this with a website or something. The food was delicious though! I'd definitely recommend it if you're in the area. 

 Anyway, after the meal The Mother (very kindly) drove us back to Eastbourne (where the family live), because it was Bracey's birthday! 

Technically it was her (22nd) birthday on the Saturday, which I had to miss due to moving. Boo! But it sounds like she had an amazing time with a kid's themed party! They played pass-the-parcel, had a treasure hunt, did face painting, dressed up & load more stuff! 

However I didn't miss out on all the fun - on the Sunday we went down to the seafront for a walk along the prom & fish & chips on the beach. Bracey was even wearing a swimming costume underneath her clothes! Madness. However after dipping her feet in the sea, she agreed with us all that it was far too cold to swim in April...

 (Click to enlarge - this was the weather on the day...not exactly warm!)

(From www.timeanddate.com)

We then watched Julie & Julia - which although was a nice story, heart-warming, etc. It did seem to drag a little. Could have done with sharper editing, maybe? I think the funniest part had to be Meryl Streep playing Julia Child - I can't really explain the eccentricity of the part, but I did enjoy it.

 

An 'official' review from IMDB:

"Julia Child and Julie Powell - both of whom wrote memoirs - find their lives intertwined. Though separated by time and space, both women are at loose ends... until they discover that with the right combination of passion, fearlessness and butter, anything is possible. Written by Columbia Pictures

 

In 1949, Julia Child is in Paris, the wife of a diplomat, wondering how to spend her days. She tries hat making, bridge, and then cooking lessons at Cordon Bleu. There she discovers her passion. In 2002, Julie Powell, about to turn 30 and underemployed with an unpublished novel, decides to cook her way through "Mastering the Art of French Cooking" in a year and to blog about it. We go back and forth between these stories of two women learning to cook and finding success. Sympathetic, loving husbands support them both, and friendships, too, add zest."

We also watched Orphan. It's a horror/thriller, about a nice couple who have two children & after a still-birth, decide to adopt another older child...cue the adopted child being a bit sinister, a lot of 'accidents' happening & eventually the whole family is in danger...dum dum dum! 

Overall, I did like the film - it was an interesting concept, with a beautiful look about the whole film - not once did you see a really bright colour, & it was snowing the whole time...really visually appealing. 

The following day I returned to London, to settle in/unpack & so on. However after two days of job-hunting, I thought I might go stir-crazy in the house! So I went for a jaunt in central. I visited Topshop, where the changing room doors are made for giants!!

(bearing in mind I'm 5"8)

I also saw a fun display in H&M;

Made me feel all spring-y! & for now I'm really quite enjoying living with my Gran, partly because this is what happens at "tea time"!

Lovely ♥

xo

The Fountain

Last night, I re-watched The Fountain - a film that I hadn't seen in quite a while, but I was reminded of how amazing it is to look at!
  The story is also lovely (if a little sad), & I really love how, in certain parts, the director leaves you hints about what's going on, but lets you - the viewer - figure it out for yourself.

The writer/director Darren Aronofsky says the film is not meant to provide answers, but to raise the big questions: "trying to find out the reason of why we’re here and what is life and what is love. And what happens when you die. These are questions that people have been asking since the beginning of time,".

  I didn't realise 'till quite recently that Mr. Aronofsky also directed Requiem for a Dream - another amazing film. I especially like the title - Requiem is a Catholic mass for a funeral...so the way I interpret that in relation to the film is that it's about the death of the 'American dream'.

  Both The Fountain & Requiem for a Dream also have really lovely, and unusual soundtracks - they can both be bought online, but I would definitely recommend checking them out on Spotify!

The Fountain soundtrack was done by a guy called Clint Mansell.

 When I was looking for pictures of The Fountain I came across this blog entry. After reading it, I pretty much agree with his opinions on: The Fountain, Vanilla Sky (will prolly get round to blogging my love for that film soon ♥) & The Blair Witch Project. Moulin Rouge I thought was okay...I'm not usually one for musicals, so the fact I have seen it a few times & wouldn't mind watching it again is probably saying a lot.
  I've not seen Crash, Eyes Wide Shut, or A.I., but after reading that, Eyes... sounds like a film that I would enjoy, so might check that out sometime soon!

Thoughts/opinions about said films? Let me know!

xo