Hanna (Wright, 2011)

This masterpiece somehow managed to escape my radar altogether when it was released last year, but I’m so glad I caught up with it.  Thrilling, gripping, at times chilling, it combines several well known styles to create something truly unique, a new genre where fairytale meets thriller and horror meets sci-fi.

The opening scene, set in a white wonderland that later transpires to be Russia, was an immediate turn-off, and turn off I would have done, had it not been for the large, piping hot, oven fresh pizza balancing on my knee. The film was presented as something from the fantasy fiction genre, an area I refuse to go near.

Yet 10 minutes later, things were looking up, with the introduction of some American hotshots (who, it later transpired, were actually in Morocco-the geographicality of the film was somewhat confusing), and the thriller part of the film began.

Beautifully written, and spectacularly acted, Saoirse Ronan, who plays the protagonist Hanna, deserves special recognition. She brings a certain je-ne-sais-quoi to her character, perfecting the portrayal of a girl who has been all but raised in the wild, yet maintaining enough humanity for the audience to be rooting for her throughout.  

Cinematographically, this is the best film in years. Beautifully lit, skillfully shot and framed, and the setting of part of the film in a dilapidated theme park was a stroke of pure genius, adding a touch of Burton to the film.

When the final credits rolled, I still hadn’t figured out who was the good guy and who was the bad guy, but I think that says more about me than the film. Somehow it didn’t matter.

No more comments will be made about the narrative, as it is hard to comment without giving too much away, and this is one film that is worth watching all the way through.

Anyone who is willing to put aside any questions of feasibility (the ease with which she escaped so many CIA agents, for one) will have an enjoyable and gripping hour and a half ahead of them.

Hall Pass (2011, Farrelly brothers)

Hall Pass was widely recognised as one of the best comedies of 2011, and it's easy to see why, with its appeal to both male and female audiences.

The basic premise is two women (Jenna Fischer and Christina Applegate), fed up of their husbands wandering eyes, give them a week off of marriage, on the advice of a friend who did the same thing. The wives leave town for a week, taking the kids with them and leaving the husbands to their own devices, no questions asked

I remember seeing the trailer at the cinema when it was released around this time last year, and thinking it was a film that I really wanted to see. As usual, life got in the way and I didn't get round to seeing it until a couple of days ago.

From the first scene, it is clear that this is no usual comedy. An intelligent understanding of both sexes is displayed, and despite the subject matter being of more appeal to a male audience, the female interest is maintained in the way that the female protagonists are one step ahead of their husbands.

One letdown is that the majority of the material used in the trailer features within the first 15 minutes, meaning that the majority of best moments are already over before the film has been established.

Owen Wilson is beautiful as always, but special mention has to go to the highly underrated Stephen Merchant.

Laugh out loud funny in some parts, toe-curlingly cringeworthy in others. Overall, a good watch, albeit enough to put a girl off the idea of marriage!

Adios enero.

The wet dog that is January has reared its ugly head and quietened down back to sleep for another year. Happy to say, I seem to have survived unscathed, without any major disasters, and with a few successes along the way. A brief rundown of my January:

• Secured two work experience placements for 2012, one at Gay Times and one at Women's Weekly.
• This blog got around 730 hits, more than triple any previous month.
• Was involved with the launch of the new site for The Yorker, which has involved implementing new Careers and Finance subsections.
• Conducted my first journalistic interview, with Steve Gallacher of Trespasser Films (article here)
• Had a guest blog published on Inspiring Interns.
• Discovered a fabulous little place in the heart of York.
• Spent more hours in the library than I care to remember-third year is beginning to take its toll

So it's been a pretty busy month, hence why I've not been blogging more, and specifically why my weekly TV round up didn't take off-I've barely had time to watch the programmes, let alone write about them!

Aims for February

• Work on the social side of university life-everyone is so busy with final year, there are some people I haven't seen yet this year (yes, you. You know who you are). I aim to pin you down to a place and a time very soon.
• Make some solid travel plans for the rest of the year, post-graduation!

On another note, today is 1.2.12. What a great day for microphone testing.*

Happy February. Just don't talk to me about Valentine's Day.

*Joke stolen from Twitter

Review: Miracle on Regent Street

Miracle on Regent Street was one of the top Christmas reads of 2011, being raved about on Twitter, the blogosphere and beyond.  Unfortunately due to my penniless student state, I didn't manage to get myself a copy until well into January, but it was well worth the wait.

Focusing on one girls attempts at saving a department store, the story was well structured if predictable at times. It is doubtful if, at time of writing, the author knew quite how poignantly relevant much of the story would be, when you consider how many retails businesses went into administration over the 2011-2012 festive period.

The writing, although powerful for the most part, was at times very amateur, and I found myself wincing at the painfully over the top description, which was often simplistic and unnecessary. On reflection, this is more to do with the fact that Harris' writing style is  remarkably similar to my own fictional narrative style (and the reason why I avoid this genre), than due to any lack of talent or ability on the part of the author.

One area in which the novel excels is creating a festive atmosphere-curled up in bed on a cold January night, I was temporally disoriented briefly, believing that it was really December and Christmas was still yet to come. Bad luck. The descriptions of the beautiful vintage clothing that forms part of Evie's transformation are inspirational, and certainly gave me a hankering for a black and white dogtooth skirt!

I won't lie and say I read it all one sitting, At first I struggled to get into the story, but after a couple of chapters, I was glad I persevered.

Conclusion: Partly questionable writing, but overall a good read.

War Horse (Spielberg, 2012)

Having seen War Horse on stage in the West End, and absolutely loving it, I was eagerly awaiting the film version, but simultaneously praying that it wouldn’t ruin the story for me.

Suffice to say I was not disappointed. Directorially awe- inspiring, an emotional musical score and some Oscar-worthy acting, make for an emotional and entertaining two hours.

In the West End show, the audience’ interests were directed towards the family as a unit, and whether they as a whole would come through the war. The film, however, ensures that all interest is vetted in the relationship between Albie and Joey, with Albie’s parents and the villagers playing a minor peripheral role. This is hardly surprising; Spielberg recreates war scenes with such conviction, that much more screen time is given over to this part of the film. On stage, it is harder to recreate the horrors of war, so the villagers and the build up to the war

Unfortunately, I have not read the original novel (it’s on my ever-growing to-do list), so can make no comment about the interpretation that Morpurgo intended.

One disappointment was the casting of Albie’s mother, Emily Watson. For one, I couldn’t help thinking that she was far too young and fresh faced to play the worn down role of Rose Narracott, and secondly, her acting was not outstanding.

Verdict: The stage show is still the best thing I have ever seen live, and I would urge everyone to go see it. The film is magnificent (well it’s a Spielberg, I doubt anyone would expect anything less), but it is obvious that it is made with the intention of becoming a blockbuster hit, which somehow cheapens it.

 Sad but true that “War Horse” is probably going to become more synonymous with the name “Spielberg” than “Morpurgo”, but I guess that’s what you expect if you sell your book rights to potentially the biggest director in the history of Hollywood.

This little place I know (and you should too...)

I made a fabulous discovery yesterday. It's a brand spanking new cupcake shop in the centre of York called  Sooty's Cupcakery. Ok, if I'm being honest, it wasn't a spontaneous discovery, I was going there with the purpose of reviewing it. But boy am I glad I did.

I know what you're thinking. It's just another one of those overpriced cupcake places that are taking over the world, giving yummy-mummies a place to yibber-yabber and spend their husband's hard earned money. WELL YOU'RE WRONG!

Take it from a self-titled cupcake connoisseur- I used to work in a cake shop, I've spent hours perfecting cupcake recipes, I spent the eve of my 18th birthday making and decorating 100 cupcakes-Sooty's is the bees knees, the cat's whiskers, the dog's toenails, in cupcakes (although you'll be pleased to hear that I found none of the above in my cake).

 I've been to the famous Hummingbird Bakery in Spitalfields, London, and even reviewed that one for Itchy City. I can honestly say, hand on heart, that my visit to the Hummingbird Bakery didn't even come close to my visit to Sooty's.* The service at Hummingbird was impersonal, the hot chocolate below average, and even the cupcakes, the holy grail for which I had made my journey, were nothing special.

Sooty's, on the other hand, was a dream come true. They had a wide range of flavours and toppings, and the cupcakes were only £1.49 each, and very reasonably sized-quite the opposite of the majority of similar businesses. Not only were the cupcakes cheap, they were perfectly decorated and, most importantly DELICIOUS. The cake was moist and light, not stodgy like some cakes, and the vanilla fondant was the most flavoursome I have ever had, without being overpowering. The accompanying hot chocolate was equally enjoyable, and cheaper than any chain cafe.  The staff were uber-friendly, and they had a wider range of choices than were available at Hummingbird.

I am therefore taking this opportunity to demand that all residents and students of York go to Sooty's at least once-although I can guarantee that you will want to go back. It is my understanding that different cakes are available everyday, so all the more reason to go back and sample them all. Sooty's also do cupcakes and occasion cakes to order, and you can mix and match base flavour and fondant flavour-it's like being in Willy Wonka's factory, but real!

Weekly visits to Sooty's are now inked into my diary. I'm only gutted that it arrived when I only have 6 months left in York.**


*I'm honestly not being paid to say this

** I'm actually also gutted that Sooty's has taken over the retail unit where a craft shop I liked once stood. But cupcakes will make that pain go away.

The negatives to being a student

People think that students have it easy, and I admit that to some extent we do; our bank accounts automatically fill up 3 times a year, we only have on average 30 weeks of "full time" education a year. But it's not all fun and drinking games, there are downsides to being a student too, one of which is niggling away at most final year students right now.

Perhaps one of the worst parts of being a student is the stereotypes that we are expected to live up to, which lead people to class us as one inseperable lump of society; we sleep all day and don't do any work, we sponge off the government, we drink too much. Yes, some students live up to these stereotypes only to well, but they are in the minority. I spent 8 and a half hours in the library yesterday, and kept working even after I got home. Until last month, save 4 weeks I have consistently held at least one, usually two jobs in the 2 and a half years I have been at University, to avoid sponging off the government more than necessary, and I haven't touched alcohol since cerca 1972. So yes, having to put up with the jokes about how little work I do does become tedious. But that is not the main reason I am disliking being a student right now.

The main reason I am hating being a student right now is something commonly known as 'The Guilt'. This is the feeling that washes over you when, having spent 8,9,10 hours straight working, revising, etc., you pause, be it to watch TV, or even do the most mundane of things such as cooking dinner or putting some washing on. You feel guilty that you should dare to leave the chains of your desk behind even for one second. I hate that your work as a student is never done; there is always one more article you could read. And so it is that I find myself craving the freedom of a 9-5 job, one where once you clock out at 5 o'clock, your time is yours. Time to pursue a new hobby, spend time with friends, or even veg around doing nothing if you fancy it, without the guilt of knowing that you should be doing something. I'm not saying that I want to do a job like that forever; I'm aware that the magazine industry is a hard task master, with irregular, long hours, and when I come to that, I will be ready for it. But for a couple of months after I graduate, I will be (hopefully) enjoying the freedom time-restricted employment.

What I watched this week: 1st-8th January 2012

As part of my new year's plans to spread my journalistic wings in 2012, I am aiming to introduce a weekly TV blog. Whether or not I will keep up with this, only time will tell, but here goes:

Of course the big TV news of the week was Pat's death in Eastenders. In a bizarre seventy miunte long episode, the long standing matriarch of Albert Square passed away amongst her nearest and dearest, and Janine and her son David. The peaceful manner in which she died was somewhat unexpected,and definitely out of character-when her impending death was announced a few months back, fans of the show were surely imagining explosive death scenes to match the ferocity of the character. Yet somehow the quiet and sudden passing made it all the more poignant-the infamous closing credit 'duff-duffs' were even toned down to mark the occasion.Following this episode was the inevitable Goodbye Pat special. The rest of the week's episodes were devoted to Pat's family, Denise and Phil's feud and the Amira-Syed-Christian love triangle, which is getting a bit old now.


Next up was Absolutely Fabulous, the second of the three specials. The start lacked humour, but this was soon rectified by a combination of Bubbles' impressions of Liz Hurley and Patsy threatening to "have you clapping between movements for the rest of your life" (not sure how they got away without any complaints to Ofcom for that one). Further intrigue grows around the subject of Saffy's daughter in Africa-we don't yet know how old she is, or even if her name is Lola or Jane...will we meet her in the third of the three specials, centred around the olympics? The comedy timing was, as always, spot on throughout. The only complaint is that these episodes are only 30 minutes each.

Hacks was a bizarre, but not entirely successful, satirical take on the News of the World phone hacking scandal, although of course all characters and plotlines were entirely fictitious etc.

Eternal Law was of particular interest, being filmed in York. It's hard to be objective about a TV programme when you're spotting all the places you know whilst watching it, but other than the interest of familiarity, there was not much gripping about this airy fairy (or should that be angelic?) drama. The opening scene was reminiscent of Doctor Who, but it went downhill from there. It was hard to feel anything towards the characters, as they were just not developed enough in this opening episode. That said, the second episode is probably worth a watch, to see if it improves at all.

Hustle was meant to be broadcast on Friday night, but hasn't appeared on iPlayer. Anyone know anything of it's whereabouts?

Wild at Heart regraced our screens on Sunday evening, but this most heartwarming of dramas has a new, chilling factor. With two scenes of trailing blood, a dead body floating in the water and a rogue tiger. this is not the family drama we used to know and love. Combine the horror scenes with the predictability of the storylines, such as Danny lying about his new job and Alice finding out, you realise it's only the humour of Fatani's fear of being at Leopard's Den at night, reminiscent of an episode of Sccoby Doo, that saved the episode. Bring back the whole family and make it back into the show it was!

The Queen's Bodyguard is the new sitcom featuring David Jason as a blundering protection agent for the royal family. More of a guilty pleasure than a must see drama, it's occasionally funny, but mostly cringeworthy and highly predictable. Plus it's hard to shake off the character of Del Boy while you're watching David Jason playing a similarly bumbling character.

High hopes and expectations

2012 is going to be a career orientated year for me. Fingers (and all other bodily protrusions) crossed, I will graduate in July, and until just a few days ago when we hopped across the border into 2012, that seemed like ions away. Now, however, it is only 5 months until exams etc. are done. That's only 5 months of long days in library and nights danced away in Reflex until I have to be a real adult in the real world (she wrote, whilst tucked up on the sofa at 3pm, watching Glee and drinking hot chocolate). So I have formulated a sort-of-plan to help me on my chosen career path of magazine journalism, and I'm hoping that by putting out into a public(ish) forum like this, it will help me to stick to it

• Post to this blog as much as possible; So far so good, but hey, we're only 5 days in. Watch this space...
• By the end of January I aim to have organised some sort of work experience, preferably in a national magazine. Ideally I would like to work in a mainstream monthly women's magazine such as Cosmopolitan, Glamour or Company. I will be applying for work experience with all of these, in the features department or similar (doesn't hurt to try, although I doubt I have enough experience yet for publications such as these to consider me), and will also apply to a whole handful of magazines. Again, watch this space
• By the end of 2012 I will have pitched (hopefully successfully) a feature idea to a well-known magazine ( got a couple of ideas at the moment, but the actual pitch is going to have to wait until after graduation, when I have the odd moment a day to breathe)
• Get some experience in multimedia journalism-video vox pops etc.
• I also aim to expand the repertoire of publications that I write for. 

How do you know (Brooks, 2010)

*SPOILERS GALORE*

This attempt at a deep, life-exploring romantic story is thorougly unsucessful, which is frustrating considering the combined talent of the cast: Jack Nicholson, Paul Rudd, Owen Wilson, Reese Witherspoon.

The character of Lisa (Witherspoon) begins as a sexy, independent young woman, however the character, and the plot of the film, lose all credibility when she stays with her awful (sort of) boyfriend Matty (Wilson). Yes, he's hot, and yes, he's rich, but very few women would put up with their relationship. And so Witherspoon is boxed into the same old sickly-sweet, pretty-blonde character that rose her to fame in Legally Blonde.

The plot is hard work, not because it's hard to follow. In fact quite the opposite. But because it's hard to fathom why half of the scenes are necessary. From the moment George (Rudd) phones Lisa to cancel a date that they weren't going on (yes, it's that sort of film), it was clear through their thoroughly separate storylines that they would get together at the end.

Overall this is a dull, unrewarding film. However, there is one saving grace: anyone who thought that Owen Wilson and Jennifer Aniston were a hot couple in Marley & Me can sit back and watch the screen melt under the heat of Owen Wilson and Reese Witherspoon sharing on-screen time in How do you know.