Bullets.

I can't seem to pull together a post on one topic, so I'm doing bullets instead.

- Why oh why is it so hard to work out how much tax-free electrial goods are in Heathrow airport? I'm not going, but my parents will be going through it soon and I want to give them a shopping list. And if they're gonna be passing through the tax-free part of the airport, then I'd like them to buy it as cheap as possible. But then maybe I should just get it off ebay...

- I taught three English lessons today, which is unusual, but my lecture this morning was cancelled, so I took over one of my mum's lessons. I must say, it's nice to see my students making progress.

- I just typed the above a minute ago, before I accidentally hit something and lost it. The strange thing is that the first bullet didn't disappear. Weird.

- I'm going shopping tomorrow - YAY!! Don't know what I'm looking for, but I'm going shopping.

- I watched the Twilight Eclipse trailer yesterday and I really liked it. Believe it or not, I was debating whether or not I was going to watch it. Now I know that I definitely will. The only thing I don't like is Bryce Dallas Howard. She just looks so wrong, they really shouldn't have switched out Rachelle LeFevre. Here it is, just in case you haven't already seen it/want to re-watch it.



- Speaking of films, I can't wait to see the new Robert Pattinson film Remember Me. A friend told me the story line and it sounds great. Sad, but great. Furthermore, she said that he actually acts in this one, and does so really well (and she's not an RPattz fan, so I trust her). I don't think that looking washed-out and sombre in Twilight truly counts as acting. Just my opinion. Anyways, here's the trailer for Remember Me:



What's your take on RPattz's acting skills? Is there anything you're looking forward to over the next few days?

Film Review: Julie & Julia + Blogging

Ok, so last night I watched Julie & Julia. I've been wanting to watch it for a while because it stars Meryl Streep (gotta love Meryl), it's about a blogger and everyone keeps going on about how great it is. So, I finally sat down to watch it last night with my little sister. In all honesty, I didn't really enjoy it. I mean, I did. But I didn't. Overall, it was just kinda meh.

First up, the positives: Meryl Streep's performance was amazing, of course, and Amy Adams looked suitably knackered throughout the film, which was appropriate, considering that her character (Julie Powell) works a job and cooks for hours by night. Also, the portrayal of a blogger was really good - it's like so much that I've come across on my reader. lol. I liked the fact that things went wrong for Julie - not because I'm mean, but because it's realistic. Things don't always work out great.

(For anyone who's interested, Julie Powell still blogs here.)

What I really didn't like? Let me count the ways:

1) There's no real story. It's just one woman blogging about cooking and another woman first learning to cook then trying to get her book published. That's it. Whoopee. Nothing else happens. I mean, I know it's a drama and all, but something has to happen. There has to be a reason for the story. But there isn't.

2) Too much making out. I mean, really?!?! It didn't add to the film. At. All. It wasn't demonstrative of the two married couples' relationships, and it honestly just felt like a filler, just something interesting to put on the screen during a talk-over.

3) It made me feel like a crap blogger. It also brought up that whole, should-I-have-a-central-theme thing again. Although this initially bugged me and got me down, it really prompted me to start thinking about my little bloggy, which lately I've been feeling needs a total re-vamp. So, I guess this aspect of the film really turned out to be a good thing. It made me think about how I want to change my blog around, and what I want to focus on, if I want to focus on anything.

Therefore, over the next week (I hope it won't be longer) I'll be changing this blog around - just messing with the design, fonts, colours, etc, as well as deleting some of the rubbish I once wrote a while ago. I might also pick a central theme, because I think I'm having a growing epiphany on that subject.

Bullets

I'm not in a writing mood, or even an editing mood to post a draft, so instead I'm just gonna do some bullets on random things that have been in my life/head recently:

- Bitchiness:
I hate it when people are bitchy. I hate it even more when they try to bring me in on their bitchiness. I mean, I can be bitchy, but I like to think it's not in an immature oh-my-God-she-said-something-mean-about-me-and-I-feel-sensitive-so-now-I'm-not-gonna-be-friends-with-her-and-I'm-not-gonna-be-friends-with-anyone-who's-friends-with-her way. Seriously, this has happened to me in the past week and all those involved were grown women. It's ridiculous. What's worse is the amount of behind-everyone's-backs whispering and tale-telling and whatnot. It's just plain sad and sick and infuriating when I get dragged in. It's so childish.

- Internet Connection:
Or rather, the lack thereof. It comes, it goes, I waste time. You see how that's frustrating? Anyways, it's here now. For now.

- Jinxs / evil eyes:
You know, this could probably be a post all by itself, but I can't be bothered doing the necessary research. In short, the evil eye is the belief that people's envy can affect things in your life. A jinx is pretty similar. And of course, you can give yourself both. Why is this a problem? It's a problem because I keep doing it to myself (unless one of my readers is...?). Everytime I write something on here that's good - like starting to exercise again, or buying a treadmill, or whatever, something goes wrong. This week my schedule has gone out the window, taking with it my exercise routine. Factor in a lot of cream cakes and we, my friends, are in serious trouble with the scales. And my treadmill is currently on hold.

- Routine:
My routine has gone clear out the window. Some weeks I totally nail it: up early, exercise done, work started / left home early, etc and plenty gets done. Not this week. And I have exams next week and a paper due. So naturally, I'm on here blogging.

- Masters:
I've been having serious doubts as to whether this is what I want to do. I'm not sure research is my thing. The only reason I haven't quit is because a) I don't want to be a quitter and b) I know that I pipped a lot of people to get a place in my course, and I owe it to them to not quit. I think that I'm gonna have to write up a list of reasons as to why I want to be in my masters course, why I want to succeed at this thing. An idea for another post.

- 2012:
I watched this film the other day and would just like to say that it totally sucked. Really, I thought this was a terrible film. I don't mind the whole end-of-the-world genre (I loved Independence Day!), but I found this film predictable, unbelievable and actually kinda sad. You can guess who'll die and who'll live within the first half an hour, and the dialogue is just meh. The only redeeming factor was John Cusack's acting - I do think he's good - and the cute Russian pilot eye-candy (played by this guy). However, I don't really think that either justifies watching the entire film.

- Nail Varnish:
I'll admit, I always underestimate the power of coloured nails. So much so, in fact, that I haven't bothered to wear nail varnish for over a year. At least. Last week, I decided to break this habit and just paint my nails. And how feminine and rocking did I feel afterwards? Yeah, I gotta do this more often. But not in bed - I spilt a bit of varnish on my bedspread and it really doesn't look that good. Any ideas as to how to get nail varnish out of duvet covers? Anyone?

Film Review: The Young Victoria

I watched The Young Victoria recently and I absolutely LOVED it. As a Brit, someone who loves reading the history of the British royal family and as someone who loves a good classic this film was perfect. It has a very good cast, with Emily Blunt (from ‘The Devil Wears Prada’) in the title role and Rupert Friend (from ‘Pride and Prejudice’ – also, he’s Keira Knightley’s other half, just so you know) as Prince Albert, the love interest.

The story centres on Queen Victoria’s life during the year before her coronation and the first few years of her reign over England. It’s not so much a love story about Victoria and Albert (which is what it’s advertised as), but really about the struggle for control of Victoria as the monarch and sovereign of Great Britain, how she dealt with it and how her relationship with Albert was important in this respect. It focuses on her personal strength in resisting her mother, uncle and the politicians of the day, as well the general belief that she was unfit for her position due to her age and gender.

What I liked:

1) The Kensington System, which was put in place to protect the young princess Victoria, is mentioned and explained early on and featured throughout much of the beginning of the film. I think that understanding the Kensington System – a series of rules governing her life, like that she wasn’t allowed to sleep alone, or walk downstairs by herself, and that she had to have someone taste her food for her, etc – is crucial to understanding who Queen Victoria was, why she was that way, and why she was so fiercely independent.

2) The cast was stellar and their performances were excellent. Emily Blunt’s portrayal of the young Queen made her feel accessible and human. Rupert friend’s Prince Albert was likeable, which is an accomplishment, because I never liked Prince Albert - he always seems so severe. Friend, however, manages to depict the Prince’s shyness, reserve and a certain sense of helplessness as a younger son being used in a power game, which endeared him to me. I also enjoyed Paul Bettany’s performance as Lord Melbourne – he demonstrates the conflict of being both a politician, keen to take advantage of the young monarch’s inexperience, and a friend and advisor who cares for her and admires her strength. I could keep going on about the cast, but I won’t.

3) I particularly liked and appreciated the way in which the three key political figures of the time (Lord Melbourne, the Duke of Wellington, and Sir Robert Peele) were introduced, using Albert in Germany.

What I didn't like:

1) There is a huge jump between Victoria’s issues with her mother’s advisor and the sudden death of the king. It kind of confused me a bit.

2) Also, her 18th birthday – which was crucial to her ascension to the throne – was completely skipped. This is especially strange considering that the King mentions that he wants to live long enough for her to reach this milestone. I think they could have mentioned that she’d turned 18 at some point before the King’s death.

3) Of course, it’s not 100% accurate: Lord Melbourne was cast too young – he was in his 50s or 60s at the time, which Paul Bettany clearly isn’t. Queen Victoria’s relationship with her mother remained distant, the film leads you to believe that there was some kind of happy ending in this respect. There wasn’t. And, I’m sorry, but I still reckon that Prince Albert was a bit of a controlling git. But none of this is crucial to the film.

Overall, I thought it was an intelligent film set against a backdrop of difficult issues and concepts – the Regency Order, succession, the link between the different royal houses of Europe, and the connection between a British monarch and Parliament – and I think it manages to explain them all well enough. But then, I’m British. I’ve studied the Kings and Queens of England in History lessons in primary school so I know, or have heard of, a lot of this stuff anyway, and I did wonder as I watched the film if people abroad (especially in North America) would understand it. I think my answer is that, although Emily Blunt is (deservedly) nominated for a Golden Globe for her performance, the film was only released in limited cinemas in the US and then went straight to DVD. As such, I would only recommend this film to people who like period dramas or are into British history or the royal family.