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Thursday 13 July 2017

Recapping The Movies I've Watched In 2017 So Far


I feel like 2017 has been the year of movies for me. Not in the sense that every movie I’ve watched has been outstanding but rather, I’ve watched an immense amount, for someone who only watched She’s The Man in 2012 and have not seen a single Lord of the Rings or Star Wars movie. Basically, I’m not a huge movie buff - I don’t rush to watch movies unless I feel like it’s necessary and I’m not fussed on whether I do get around to it or not. I guess the biggest difference this year is that the friends that I’ve been hanging out with all love watching movies, and it’s become a social thing for me. Almost like a movie club! 

So without further ado let’s get into the first half of the year recap. 

Movies that I’ve watched


Most, if not all of these, are pretty mainstream movies with heaps of hype around them. 

Best Movies

I’m going to admit it, I’ve barely seen any of the other Wolverine movies, but Logan was amazing in that I didn’t have to know much about the other two to watch this one. It was such an emotional journey, played out spectacularly by Hugh Jackman and Dafne Keen. The plot was detailed enough, without dragging out moments, and I loved that it conveyed themes around equality, discrimination, love and family. 

I’m a Disney fan and this pretty much exceeded my expectations of it. I always go into adaptations quite apprehensive, but I throughly enjoyed this. Full review here. 

Worst Movie

Don’t even ask me why I watched it. From the plot to the script, it was all so cheesy and barely made any sense. Do not waste your time. 

Most Surprising

I watched this at the beginning of the year, after looking at what was on and not seeing anything else my friends and I would’ve liked to see. Surprise, surprise, I enjoyed it more than I thought I would. Maybe it’s because I didn’t expect too much, but I loved the design of the spaceship and the world building, the flawed characters and yes, even the sappy plot line. It was an enjoyable movie and would be great for a night in. 

Most Disappointing

Okay, let’s just get this straight. “Split” was one of those movies that I pictured what would happen in my mind and hope it would blow my mind. Instead, it left me confused and unsatisfied, veering from psychological thriller to having supernatural elements. I was hoping for darker elements that would leave me questioning the entire plot but really, all I'm questioning is why they decided to do what they did. 

Let’s be real, I expected this to be a disappointed. I don’t even know why I thought this would be better than it was. I mean I liked the transformation of the cars. I liked the humour. I liked the fighting. But everything else was way, waaaaay too cheesy. Optimus Prime had so many monologue moments, I thought I was watching a Shakespearean play. 

Thoughts on other movies


Gal Gadot was badass and beautiful. I’m not a huge DC fan nor do I know much about the history around Wonder Woman, so I felt like the context was strange. Nevertheless, it was an amazing movie celebrating a female superhero so I’m all about it. 

Can you tell I really like superhero movies? I really appreciated this re-make of Spider Man, because it explored Peter’s younger years and how he struggles to balance his teen years with his secret missions. It’s so realistic and relatable, from the peer pressure to thinking that he can tackle everything in the world because he has powers. It was definitely different to other superhero movies, but once I got past the lack of action - there is action, just not the same amount as per usual - I found I really enjoyed it for the message it portrayed. 

I'm in two minds about this. I liked it. It had a good back story to Kong, his demeanour and personality and how, as humans, we tend to take things for granted and assume that every land is ours for the taking. The island was incredible and so rich in creativity, and I loved that they filmed part of it in Ha Long Bay. On the other hand, it wasn't as engaging or captivating as I wanted it to be, so there were times I zoned out or felt like it was dragged on.

Bottom Line - go see Logan, Spiderman, Beauty and the Beast and Wonder Woman because they were all incredible and had so much to take away from. 

What Movies Have You Guys Seen This Year?

Monday 10 July 2017

Why You Should Read The Handmaid's Tale Once In Your Life


Title: The Handmaid's Tale
Author: Margaret Atwood
Publication Date: 1985
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Offred is a Handmaid in the Republic of Gilead. She has only one function: to breed. If she deviates, she will, like dissenters, be hanged at the wall or sent out to die slowly of radiation sickness.

But even a repressive state cannot obliterate desire - neither Offred's nor that of the two men on which her future hangs. 





Review



The Handmaid’s Tale is one of those reads that you know will leave an impression on you, at least it did for me.

What I loved most about this was the way Atwood introduced profound ideas, which were explored somewhat, but for the most part I was left to delve further and reach my own conclusions. At first, it was a little frustrating, seeing as I wanted to know more, but overtime as I began to engage and construct my own opinions, I realised that I was taking more out of the plot by being forced to think about what Atwood was presenting. I really would’ve liked to have studied this sometime during high school or university because I feel like I would’ve gained so much more. There are so many aspects to this novel that can be discussed and to hear people’s opinion about it would’ve made for great debate.

The best part of The Handmaid's Tale as well, is that your opinion of it will change depending on when you read it during your life. For me, being at the ripe old age of 22 (kidding, I know I’m still very, very young), this novel has given me so much to think about but I’m also aware of how much I would’ve missed. I say this because Margaret Atwood, whilst writing this in 80s, was well ahead of her times and introduced ideas that can only really be grasped from knowledge gained through life experiences, studying these aspects or being well read. Personally, I think my feelings around this novel will definitely evolve between now and say 10 years later.

The writing itself is almost like the stream of consciousness style, reflecting Offred’s mindset perfectly. It felt like she was recounting her time, moving to and from the past and present as she remembered moments that related to her present time. I found that it was almost like I was reading a diary - intimate and compelling - and I couldn’t help but become attached emotionally. The world building was also fascinating and slightly terrifying. It depicts a society with ideals and hierarchy that can be considered as exaggerated to reinforce Atwood’s portrayal of the negative consequences in creating such a society. However, there are notions of truth within it, and as terrifying as it sounds, this world presented in the book could potentially become a world we might live in. This is why I find Atwood so impressive, because the story is well beyond its years and will remain relatable for generations to come.

The Handmaid’s Tale is a thought-provoking and precautionary tale that speaks of equality, power and identity that will stay with you and is well worth the read and re-read later on in your life.

Thursday 6 July 2017

Recapping The First Half of 2017 and Where I'm At So Far

I'm sorry but how is it July already? I have no idea where the first 6 months have been so this post will be interesting. Hopefully my memory doesn't fail me.

Posts To Check Out


I haven't been as consistent with my blog, but I'm actually quite satisfied with the content that I've produced. This year I wanted to focus on generating content that I was happy about, and that would create ideas and debate, rather than write about anything and everything to make up for lack of posts.

My favourite posts for this year so far are:

Let's Talk

Reviews

Other
Harry Potter's 20th Anniversary: Counting Down 20 Of My Favourite Moments


Mid Year Book Freak Out Tag 


Find out which books I loved, found disappointing, my biggest surprise so far and favourite book covers I've bought for the first half of 2017.


Goals Progression


I've only read 8 books so far this year. Yes, it doesn't seem like much, but my goal this year was to read books that I know I'd like and will be memorable. With at least 7 of them I can happily say I'm glad I read them and that I did enjoy them. Quality over quantity right?



I never really got to set resolutions for this year, purely because I know that I'm all for talking about them but never put plans in place to action them, which is a big no no. Instead, I've set long term goals that have short term goals that I want to work on within an amount of time to get there. Early days so I have to wait to see how I go with those.

How Has 2017 Been For You So Far?