Film Reviews: Les Misérables

Never having seen Les Mis on stage, I didn't really know what to expect from the film, but I have to say that I really enjoyed it.   It was a big film, with lots of big scenes, big stars and lots of big songs.   I especially enjoyed Helena Bonham Carter and Sacha Baren Cohen as the nasty innkeepers.   They were hilarious!   Brilliant performances.   But what else could we expect from Helena Bonham Carter?   I enjoyed the little street urchin Gavroche as well.   Real talent there.   Everyone seems to have hated Russell Crowe's singing voice, but I didn't think he was that bad at all!   Not great, but passable.   There have definitely been worse!   Since watching this I've listened to the soundtrack a lot and there are so many brilliant songs in it and most of them really well performed.   My favorites were Eponine's song, On My Own, which is so beautifully sad and poignant, and Do You Hear the People Sing, which is so very stirring.   But there are loads of other good ones besides.   Some of it was a bit over-the-top melodramatic and drawn-out for me, but that's just because the original material is.   Not much the director (who by the way is Tom Hooper who directed one of my all time favorites, The King's Speech) could have done there without changing it dramatically.   And even as a smelly ragged prisoner I still found Hugh Jackman attractive!  

TV Reviews: The Big Bang Theory Season 5

I love The Big Bang Theory.   It's definitely one of my favorite tv shows.  I love the characters and the writing is so clever, and it's full of nerdy geeky jokes which I understand!  It's my staple program to watch in bed when I'm ill.   It never fails to cheer me up.   Season 5 did not disappoint!   It followed on seamlessly from the previous seasons and had the same energy and humour.   Sheldon and Howard's girlfriends Amy and Bernadette are by now well established in their roles and make excellent additions to the group.   The series is dominated by the build up to the big season finale, namely Howard and Bernadette's wedding and Howard's trip to space.   There are plenty of mentions of wedding plans throughout and arguments about Howard going into space.   And of course the big event we've all been waiting for happens as well, which is Leonard and Penny getting back together.  We all knew it would!   We all know it's right!   But once again the course of true love does not run smooth for them.   This isn't a fairy tale.   And perhaps my favorite moment of the series was Sheldon and Amy finally becoming an official couple.   It was so cute and funny.   Of course with a group of such "interesting" personalities there are always going to be interpersonal difficulties and this series deals with quite a lot of them.   Both Sheldon and Amy, and Bernadette and Howard encounter difficulties in their relationships, like Sheldon being selfish and Howard's shady past, but they both get through them.  Sheldon and Leonard also have problems with their friendship for the same reason.   The issue of Raj's loneliness is also dealt with pretty thoroughly too, with him falling for Penny, his phone, a gold digger, then asking his parents for help for help finding a wife, then finally getting a dog from Howard and Bernadette.   Poor Raj.   I also enjoyed a cameo from yet another Star Trek actor, this time Brent Spiner.   It made my inner Trekkie child very happy.   All in all a very strong continuation to a great series, and I can't wait to see Season 6 (Yes, I know it's been out for ages!   I'll get to it!)

Film Reviews: Origin: Spirits of the Past

I got given this anime film for my birthday and watched it with no idea what to expect.   I have to say that I really enjoyed it.  The story isn't particularly original or entertaining, but it's just all so pretty!   The animation is gorgeous.   And there's so much green everywhere!   It's set in a post-apocalyptic future when genetically engineered trees have rebelled against the humans and taken over the planet.   Now the trees are in charge, controlling the water supply, and the humans live in the ruins of their old civilisation.   One day a young boy discovers a young girl from the past in stasis and wakes her up.   She can't cope with the new reality and sets out to try and defeat the trees and restore the planet to how it was in her time, by using a secret machine that her father built.   In the end, however, she learns a bit more about the world's history and changes her mind.   The humans and the trees make peace. 

My favorite landscape was the human city, with people living in spartan shelters with only the bare necessities on top of ancient ruined sky scrapers.   Such a great looking contrast and worked really well.   I love the man-made all mixed up with the natural, and I love how precarious the humans' existence looks.   The forest looked really good too.   The whole thing is just beautiful and has a very beautiful soundtrack as well that complements the animation perfectly.   The beauty of the film more than makes up for the slightly weak storyline.

Songs: Look Around

This week I'd like to share a song by one of my favorite local bands.   As well as being catchy and a bit different, it also pretty much sums up my life view.   These guys are great!   Their whole album is actually really good and they're really good live.   Definitely want to try and see them more often.   Can't find any decent videos, but here's a link to the song anyway.    


http://jenthegents.bandcamp.com/track/look-around  


Portobello and Lost the Groove are also well worth a listen!

Cosmetics:Vineyard Peach Body Butter

This stuff is AWESOME!   Vineyard Peach Body Butter, from The Body Shop.   It's not one of their normal ones, but they do bring it back every other summer or so as a special, under different names.   It's glorious!   Summer in a pot.   I am a fan of The Body Shop body butters in general.   They're really rich and good quality and they last forever, and as well as all that this one also smells amazing.   It is a truth universally acknowledged that peaches are in fact the best things in the entire world ever, and I think I've finally found something that captures how great they are.   It doesn't smell like uber sweet peach flavouring, but like real, juicy, delicious peaches.   Fresh, fruity and sweet.   It does lose something on the skin though, sadly.   It loses a bit of the tang, and smells a bit more like peach flavouring, but nice peach flavouring.   Highly recommended.   It's great stuff!