Watched, Read, Loved: February 2017

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February being so short is all fun and games (particularly since payday is closer for a lot of people) but then suddenly you are in March and I don’t know about you, but I’m really like where the actual f is this year going? February was rather quiet compared to January’s movie intake, which I will blame on the shortness of the month and the fact that I got hooked on Daredevil, which certainly took up the majority of time I would usually have spent watching movies. But do you see me complaining? Nope. It changed my life, the show is THAT good.

On a personal note the start of February was rather sad. I kept thinking whether I should do some sort of separate posting about it, but decided against it as it seemed too morbid to post exclusively about death. One of my oldest friends committed suicide late January, and her birthday was on the same date as my father’s, who would have been sixty this year. In the past the weekend close to the 2nd of February would have usually been a massive amount of party juggling is now only a sad remembrance of two amazing people, and that is really just very sad to deal with.

Furthermore work was also a little crazy. I received a job offer and went through all the hoops to get a formal proposal. I ultimately decided to stay with my current company, a decision which I question daily. The pros and cons kept me awake for nights on end, and while I’m mostly happy with my decision the thought of a few things still make me wonder. It is not always easy here, but I have realized that the field I am in is rarely easy, so if I truly want to change I will do so after my degree and rather just change careers completely.

On the Tinder and dating saga: February is the month of Lurveeeee. I am very much past the point where Valentines actually holds meaning to me. I hate to be on the overly-negative-bandwagon, but it is a commercialized chaos and I am very uninterested in furthering every shop in town’s agenda. I just realized that I really have so much to say about this that I should do another Tinder and dating post. It has been a merry ride with asthma attacks during dates, single events, people who actually use the term hella cool and people who seem to think I’m dumb and don’t have basic knowledge of things.

Looking at everything I just wrote on there I am not surprised I didn’t reach my January high of movies. Here they are below, let me know what you’ve been up to as well in the comment section!

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Movies:

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Hunt for the Wilderpeople (2016): 8.5/10

I started February off with a bang and finally got to Hunt for The Wilderpeople. I reviewed it already because I loved it too much to keep it contained for too long. It is really far out of the type of movie I would usually choose to watch. This actually can’t be classified to a genre. Full of quips, this film is designed to warm your heart and make you think long and hard about the sanity of New Zealanders.

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The BFG (2016): 6/10

Wow, I really get why people didn’t like this! Long and overindulgent. Ugh.

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Harry Potter and The Half-Blood Prince(2009): 6.5/10

Can a movie ever really do justice to the book it was created from? The answer is always no unless it is Lord of The Rings. I’m not sure whether I’ll even do a review for this. I had it in my head to do a series at one stage, so maybe I will just write it up and get to it one day in the distant future.

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Shall We Dance? (2004):6.5/10

I watched this with my mom, and we both enjoyed it. It is mostly about an old man finding his groove again, and I liked it by the end. It is also not about cheating and I was very suspicious about that, which made me pleased in the end.

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Notting Hill (1999): 6.5/10

I apparently really like the 6.5/10 rating. It seems like a fair score if I liked it but it wasn’t amazing. Notting Hill is a passable film but it isn’t my favorite in the genre. I still think Julia Roberts is one of the most beautiful women to have ever worked in Hollywood.

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How to Be Single (2015): 6.5/10

This is a second watch for me. I really like a number of things about this movie – Rebel Wilson and Dakota Fanning do great work together. Dakota Fanning is a really talented lady, so I hope she does more work other than that BDSM crap. The message of this film is also really important.

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Books:

The Power of Six (Pittacus Lore)

Not sure if I should even list it on here as I read the last twenty pages in February, but there you go. It was quite enjoyable although it certainly wasn’t as captivating as the first book.

After You (JoJoMoyes)

After Me Before You, the touching book and the slightly less touching film, After You comes along. Lou is dealing with her grief, her inability to convey to strangers how she loved a man so quickly and powerfully in only six months and the judgment of every ass available. It is written in typical JoJoMoyes style and so far it is really enjoyable although I can’t see how she will reach the emotional highs of her first book.

Tribute – Nora Roberts

I enjoy Tribute on a loop every year at least. All I know from reading this book again is I want a Spock.

Harry Potter and The Prisoner of Azkaban – JK Rowling

Everything. This book is everything. It makes me so happy and content. It is such an important book in the series, and there are scenes in there that fills my heart up with so much happiness and light.

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Series:

X-files Season 2 – I’m a bit at a snag right now with X-Files. I enjoy it but it is so procedural I can drop and pick up without too many holes in the conversation.

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Daredevil Season 1 and 2 – I’ve been postponing this for ages now. WHY? It is amazing. It is 10 000% better than that awful Jessica Jones BS I subjected myself too. Charlie Cox as Daredevil is AMAZING. That introduction.The tone of the series.The action.The simple badassery. I am so involved in this. WOW. I will post both reviews and JJ soon, and you will see the remarkable difference.

What have you been up to this month?

Movies 2016: Worst to Best

The year 2016 will be known for a number of things – an inordinate amount of celebrity deaths and an equally inordinate amount of lackluster movies. Are these two correlated? I’m not convinced its’ not. Anyway, here is my list of movies I watched this year that was released in 2016. It’s not been a good one.

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Number 19: Batman vs. Superman: Dawn of Justice 6/10

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Number 18: Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find them 6/10

Number 17: Before You 6/10

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Number 16: The Choice 6.5/10

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Number 15: How to be single 6.5/10

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Number 14: The 5th Wave 7/10

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Number 13: SUICIDE SQUAD 7/10

Number 12: Rogue One: 7/10

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Number 11: The Huntsman: Winter’s War 7/10

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Number 10: Legend of Tarzan 7.5/10

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Number 9: Finding Dory 7.5/10

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Number 8: Captain America: Civil War: 7.5/10

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Number 7: Zootopia 8/10

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Number 6: The Jungle Book 8/10

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Number 5: 10 Cloverfield lane 8/10

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Number 4: Dr. Strange 8/10

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Number 3: Deadpool (8/10)

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Number 2: Bridget Jones’ Baby: 8.5/10

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Number 1: Pride and Prejudice vs. Zombies 8.5/10

February 2016: Watched, Read, Loved

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Welcome to a new little segment I want to start running monthly – just a rundown of whatever entertainment I found the most enjoyable the past month. I hope you enjoy!

In cinema:

The Fifth Wave: 7/10

I certainly enjoyed this more than most other trolls on the internet. While it isn’t a perfect film and feels at places that some ideas where snatched from other dystopian novels, it was entertaining and with a semi-solid cast.

Deadpool: 8/10

i.e. The film everyone had been waiting for for years, etc. It is rowdy, rude, sexual, violent and entertaining as hell. It is great to see a superhero movie that isn’t PG friendly. I’ve never understood why these superheroes could even be depicted as PG – they save the world and they are these happy, behaved and profanity ignorant people?

How To Be Single: 6.5/10

HTBS started off the 2016 romcom year, and it was a suprising movie. I never expected it to be groundbreaking or revolutionary, but the performances from Dakota Johnson and Rebel Wilson makes the movie enjoyable.

Wedding Crashers

At home:

Wedding Crashers: 8.5/10

This is my favorite movie watched in February. It was hilarious and I had the best time ever.

When Harry met Sally

Short on it the heels of Wedding Crashers, TBH. It is worthy of its iconic romcom status, and I’m glad I saw it for Drew and Kim’s 80’s blogathon – I think that is going down in March, so keep a lookout!

Kill Bill Volume I – 7.5/10

Hmm. THIS BLINDSPOT. It derailed so many plans of being perfect this year. I struggled to get a copy, finally got a DVD, THE DVD then didn’t work, and I was just done with life at that point. However, I’ve seen it now, and it was good, although not my favorite show.

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Series:

Arrow Season 1

Hehe. I’m very passionate about this show, but not because it is good. I just like going on and on about how bad it is. Great conversation starter, let me tell you.

Arrow Season 2

Same as above

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Books:

The Longest Ride by Nicholas Sparks

It was okay, though lacked the sensory pleasure the movie does because I thought Scott Eastwood was mighty fine in the adaption.

Mad About the Boy by Helen Fielding

Finished this book in the time frame for Feb because of leap year. YAY! Book was good, entertaining, bit too long and very much like its’s first novel.

Hope you have an excellent March my friends! This is wedding month for so many people on my side, and I am pretty amped for them.

#100HappyDays: Days 43 – 48

I can’t believe this challenge is going so quickly! Not going to lie, my penchant for self sabotage sometimes peeks out and … motivates me to only post two posts on one day rather than on separate days. However, this is my challenge, so it makes me quite happy 😀

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Day 43:

Spent Valentine’s day with my sisters and my mom, had a fantastic breakfast at Life in Mall of the South and finally found a copy of the long searched for Kill Bill Volume 1.

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Day 44:

The caption on my Instagram post says it all: These books attacked me and forced me to buy them. I had no say whatsoever.

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Day 45:

Winning the war on sugar is not easy, but the days where I evict the victor is truly marvelous and very frequent lately.

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DAy 46:

Had a GALentines day and went to watch How To Be Single. So much fun!

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Day 47:

Woohoo! Finished Season 2. It is better than Season 1 at least.

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Day 48:

I was so impressed with Takealot. I firstly got my Unisa textbook on a 50% sale, and chose two cheesy Afrikaans DVDs to be delivered with it. Much to my surprise it was delivered the following afternoon.

What is making you happy as of late?

Movie Review: How to be Single (2016)

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Plot: New York City is full of lonely hearts seeking the right match, and what Alice, Robin, Lucy, Meg, Tom and David all have in common is the need to learn how to be single in a world filled with ever-evolving definitions of love.

Rating: 6.5/10

This movie is this year’s most chick-flicky flick of all time. I have been so excited to head out with some girl friends and I finally did Wednesday.

How to be Single is exactly what we want it to be. It is hyper unrealistic mixed with handsome men, women struggling to get a grip on life and girls being friends forever.

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Dakota Johnson is perhaps the most enjoyable, really because it is something where she isn’t being abused. I really do like her and her unique sense of fashion, which suits her to a tee.

Rebel Wilson is surely underused, but still greatly entertaining. I wish this girl could get her own movie, I truly do. Leslie Mann really worked well in her role too, and it was nice discovering that she can be really good to watch when she plays something different than a ditzy trophy wife. I don’t truly get the point of Allison Brie’s character, but she was also quite a bit of fun.

The male leads are all rather insignificant, underlying the point that the movie is not about men, but surviving on your own and enjoy some time where you don’t have to fully account for all your moves (yes, biased).

Did I enjoy it? Very much. Sorry, I’m not terribly eloquent tonight. I had fun and I was entertained, and it is a great film for what it is – a great movie to start a girl’s night with.

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FTF: Five Movies I’m excited to see in 2016

Happy Friday!

Before I start this off, let me give you some information:

It is SO hot in Johannesburg right now. We are soaring around forty degrees celcius, which if you calculate it over into Fahrenheit it still translates as VERY FUCKING HOT. There are shock waves of heat in the air. I am sure of it. My pillows are warm when I get home after work, and I’m sure it is not a ghost. The wipes I clean my face with is warm, sealed in their packets. The air the fan blows out is warm. Are we in Mordor? I do not know.

I managed to stick to my blogging shcedule I promised on Monday. YAY me!!

I’ve done really well with my lifestyle change. So proud of myself!

Unisa sorted their shitty application and registration systems out and I am finally sorted to study this year. Let me NOT even start on that subject.

It is my birthday month! YAY!

Okay, let’s start with the real post:

i.e. Five Movies I can’t wait to see in 2016

Captain America: Civil War

X-Men: Apocalypse

Suicide Squad

Deadpool

The Huntsman

Honorable mentions:

Doctor Strange

Batman vs. Superman: Dawn of Justice

Independence Day: Resurgence

How to be Single

Pride and Prejudice and Zombies

What are you looking forward to?

PS: Sorry I didn’t put in YouTube videos. It would have cluttered the post and I’m sure you all know how to Google anyway 🙂