Wild: Review + Response

This week I went to see Wild. This film has garnered Academy Award nominations for Reese Witherspoon in the Best Actress category and one for Laura Dern in the Best Actress in a Supporting role category. This film made me want to quit my job and go on a three month hike. Yes, really.

So what is it about?
After her marriage dissolves due to her infidelity and heroine addiction, Cheryl needs to change. She has been running from her grief for a long time: she accepts how deeply the death of her mother has impacted her. Her mother had been her best friend and, since her death, Cheryl feels she has lost herself. She decides to walk herself back to the woman her mother raised her to be. She walks to shake off her grief and the weight of her mistakes in order to find redemption. With no experience and limited funds she sets out on a hike that takes her three months to complete. Travelling alone, against the odds and tackling the weather and the wilderness, Cheryl is pushed to her limits and is forced to learn the true meaning of endurance. This is not your classic 'road trip' story: it's more about overcoming hardship whilst being set against the great American wilderness.

The film is tense. There are scenes that really address the  worries of being a lone female traveller in some very tense scenes. Witherspoon masterfully displays the joys and the horrors of such a journey. This could be a really good stepping stone in Reese Witherspoon's career. This film is a poignant masterpiece. I think it's a testament to the strength of the film if you go out and immediately buy the book...

2014 in Photos.

One of my resolutions for 2014 was to get into photography. I got an Instagram account and that actually made me start thinking more about how to capture the every day moments we experience more often. I played around with cameras and took lots of photos whilst out on walks. I think I'm going to make a real effort to continue trying to capture little snippets of my life. I want something to look back on throughout my life. I collected a bunch of my photos from 2014 and made a short video to try and encapsulate the spirit of  2014 and what it was like for me.

Here is my 2014 in pictures, all in under 3 minutes.
I've got to be honest, this is a highly cut down collection of images that I'd collected this year but I feel that it captures a lot of 2014 for me. Please watch and, if you're interested, subscribe to my YouTube channel as I aim to start putting up more stuff in the not too distant future...

2015 Reading Goals

I recently saw this great post on Buzzfeed called "2015 Reading Goals" which asked people what their reading goals were for this year and they asked people to tweet back their responses.

Some read:

"Read more non-white women writers"

"Explore Russian literature,"

"Read one book a week"

"Quit social media to read more"

"Read all of Shakespeare's sonnets"

What are your 2015 reading goals?
What books are you looking forward to reading in 2015?
Let me know in the comments section or tweet me your answer with the hashtag #2014ReadingGoals

Annie: Review + Response

So I recently went to see 'Annie' in the cinema and, although it has received mixed reviews, I really enjoyed it. Perhaps I enjoyed it because I didn't like the original. In our culture we often fear remakes: will it piss on the memory of the film we loved? Will it do the story justice? So many hated this film because they held the original so dear to their hearts. I, however, had no beloved film to hold onto and I entered with low expectations. This film is a very modern, trendy version that has been jazzed up for the audience of today.

Quvenzhané Wallis plays a precocious and instantly likeable Annie. She radiates charm so effortlessly and as a child actor I wish her all the best with her future career. Whether she stays in acting or moves onto something else at a later date I feel that she has a good path ahead of her. She is so poised and full of talent and charm. An obvious appeal to this film is the reverse white-washing and to be frank I want to see this sort of thing more. The world is ready for a black Bond. We want to see The Doctor played by an actor who isn't white. We want diversity. We need it. We crave it. I so desperately want this film to show the media how to do it I think we just need open auditions or casting calls where anyone can audition and anyone can be considered for the part. Cameron Diaz gives an awkward performance as Miss Hannigan, though this is probably down to the character herself. As far as musicals go I actually enjoyed this more than Into The Woods. I loved all of the unexpected cameos: Rihanna, Mila Kunis, Sia. Sia's work on the soundtrack was most welcome.  It had such a quirky, modern sense of humour and the bit that made me laugh hardest happened in the first twenty seconds of the film. If you've seen it, you know what I mean....

Coffee, Coffee, Coffee!

One thing I'm trying this year is to cut down on the amount of fizzy drinks I consume. There are so many health risks with soda and fizzy drinks including heart disease, risk of Type 2 diabetes, osteoarthritis and even cancer. I am currently weaning myself off with tea and coffee. I've been drinking a lot of loose leaf teas and herbal teas. I try to keep my tea varied as different teas can offer different health benefits. Click here to read an article I wrote a while back on the health benefits of different kinds of tea. I'm drinking a lot of black coffee at the minute, sometimes with the occasional latte, but I've stopped drinking sugary Starbucks coffees like some of those chocolate cream frappuccino things. I'm trying to drink coffee as healthily as possible whilst also taking great care to ensure it's not staining my teeth. So far I'm doing a lot better than expected. Hopefully I'll be able to cut down my intake of fizzy drinks. There are far less calories in tea and coffee anyway.

30 Book Challenge 2015

Alrighty.

So this is a challenge that I tried to do last year and I failed. Miserably. I worked so much and so much of my time was taken up that I utterly ran out of time for reading. I'd get home, crack open a book and fall asleep within the first few pages. That said, I wish to read more in 2015. I truly do. I've decided to do the 30 Book challenge again and this year I aim to succeed. I shall then write a review of each book after reading it and give you my recommendations. I got so many wonderful books for Christmas and it'd be a great thing to read them all this year. I feel really positive about this. Fingers crossed! Watch this space...

New Years Resolutions.

Good morning, readers.

This is, I believe, my second year doing this. Having recently discussed the resolutions from 2014 that I had set out for myself, it's time for new resolutions for the year ahead.

Learn to say YES.

Everyone always seems to regret not taking risks. In hindsight we see they may have lead to something good. I feel that I need to learn to say yes and be more pro-active. I've lost out to many job opportunities because I forgot to respond to them by just thinking 'Eh, I will keep the window open in my browser and get to it later,' but when later comes, the position has been filled. Like in the film "Yes Man" I want to learn to say yes and grab opportunities when I see them. This could mean going on more nights out or taking up extra shifts or anything that could benefit me somehow.

Procrastinate less, do more.

This really follows on from the last one. I probably lost hundreds of hours to procrastination in 2014. All those times I went to sit down and write a novel and ended up on Tumblr or Pinterest or YouTube. I have so many things that I want to achieve and I will only do this if I kick my procrastinating ways. I need to focus on my work this year because I feel that this year could be a big one for me.

Write a thing.

I want to write a thing. Any thing. A book thing. A script thing. An anthology thing. Anything. I want it done by the end of 2015.

Travel

I want to at least go somewhere outside of England. Just once. I meant to last year but work and personal restraints held me back. Hopefully, this year will be the year...

Make a career change

I have been in my current job for over a year now and I can safely say that, although I've enjoyed some aspects of my time here, it's not the job I was aiming for when I left university. Now it is time to find the job I want, the job I'm qualified to do. This may mean working at my current job as well as a new job and doing both simultaneously. This may be one big career move altogether. I've not decided yet but let's see what the New Year brings...

Blogging Break

Hello bloglets!

I've decided to take a little time away from the blog to give myself a break. I am a true believer in the power of the New Year. I love all the vibes and positivity of a new year where people are really trying to better themselves. I am currently sitting down and having a good think about what I want from this year and am taking time to plan ahead. I need some time to just relax. Today is the first day I've had in about two weeks where I'm home and I have no other commitments. I've been rushing back between work and parties and different houses. I've just worked eight days in a row. I need a good day off to just relax. Well, as much as I can possibly relax as I'm using today to start a new job hunt. Tomorrow I shall post up my New Years Resolutions as I forgot to do so previously. Thank you for your patience and constant readership. You are appreciated.

Now to relax for a few days....

Happy New Year!

2015 is here!
I wish you all the warmth and goodness that the next year can bring.
I hope your resolutions are achieved and that the year provides much joy for you. I send out love to all of my readers, whether you've read once or if you're a daily reader, you're great.