March to May: Watched, Read, Loved

march to may

I was all over the place with this post , claiming that I would do some monthly rundowns. I was planning to, I really was, but as you know life is a busy little bastard and all you can do sometimes is hold on for dear life and hope not to fall off the wagon.

In Cinema:

I’ve been to cinema quite a lot the last couple of months. There were a few films I wanted to watch before the internet spoiled everything, and for the most part I walked out relatively pleased.

  1. Batman vs. Superman: Dawn of Justice

The biggest problem with Batman vs. Superman? It lacked heart. Not all films should be lighthearted, but BvS had no comic relief and no passion – you need either of the two. I didn’t hate it though, but I do think that DC should have worked a little harder if they really plan to have a fighting chance in an environment so dominated by their biggest rivals.

  1. The Huntsman: Winter’s War 

I will definitely watch this again – it is easy, comfortable watching, not necessarily great but it was quite fun. It also contains my husband, and that can’t be ignored!

  1. The Jungle Book

Beautiful and charming, it impressed me with its gorgeous CGI and traditional storyline. Not my favorite Disney live action film, but it was good nonetheless. I am still the most excited for Beauty and the Beast next year. I CAN’T WAIT.

  1. Captain America: Civil War

Woohoo!! This was so great! It probably deserves a higher score from me, because on reflection I had a blast with it.

At Home:

Blindspot:

March: Love Actually – it was OKAY. Not really my favourite romantic comedy and I won’t be watching it again.

April: Home Alone – not gonna lie, I hated this. I am way too old for this shit

May: Warrior Sooo good, but not something I’d recommend as a pick me up.

Other films:

Begin Again (2013) – I really enjoyed it! It is surprising and not really as close to a romcom as it might sound, and I especially enjoyed the track.

The Fast and The Furious (2001) – This way Throw Back was the best and entertaining. I had the best time even though it is as ridiculous, gawdy, a murky story line and terrible acting. It’s all about investing in the future films, you see.

Wild Child (2008) – Wild Child is a favorite movie of 2008 for me. It has everything – the teenage drama, the love story, the gorgeous hero, friendship, everything! I had to force myself not watching it again right after!

Damon-Salvatore

Series:

I’m rewatching The Vampire Diaries at the moment and having a complete and utter blast.  I stopped half way into Season two to focus on exams, but I am so onboard getting my ass to season 7 eventually! Can we just say #teamDamon all the way?!

Reading:

Last Chance Salloon (Marian Keyes) – hmmm, not my favorite Marian Keyes. It was good in some places but it took me ages to get through it – long, laborious reading.

Me-Before-You

Me Before You (JoJo Moyes) – surprising and good, well thought out, not overly sloppy.

The Welcoming (Nora Roberts) – for the life of me I can’t write a review on this for some reason. It is very bland, definitely some of Nora’s most basic work. It isn’t bad or offensive, just pretty tame and nearly put me to sleep in some places.

I finally finished Big Magic after months of searching for it! I’d love to read it again, with a highlighter and a note pad.

Currently also reading:

Evening Class by Maeve Binchy. – this book is a real drag, to be honest. I don’t get why the author is compared to the likes of Marian Keyes – Binchy writes books that make me fall fast asleep. I thought perhaps this book was different from the other one I read by her, but it is shockingly the same – the exact same format and story if you take away all the frills.

Collaboration:

I reviewed over on T9M’s site The Help (2011) – such an awesome flick!

I also reviewed for Kim and Drew‘s 80’s blogathon – When Harry Met Sally – what a great film, definitely worthy of a classic status.

What have you been up to?

Book Review: A Week In Winter (Maeve Binchy)

a week in winter

The Sheedy Sisters all lived together in Stone House. As time progressed, the lovely building fell into disrepair due to a lack of funds. Queenie Sheedy got a chance to repair the place by selling it to Mrs. Chicky Starr, who had returned from the United States to Stoneybridge after the car crash that killed her husband.

Assisted by Rigger, Miss Queenie and Chicky set out to open Stone House as a hotel. They are soon joined by Chicky’s niece Orla, who returned from the city life because she was desperately missing her hometown.

Time grows close and their first guests are on their way. Each guest has a secret or sad story, and they are all in various phases of dealing with their lives.

Doctors Henry and Nicola are recovering from Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder – after witnessing a brutal suicide in the ER section of the hospital they both had worked in, they thought becoming medical officers on a cruise ship would suit them perfectly. It did, until they agreed to keep a secret that later claimed three lives. Stone house immediately call to them – they start feeling better and manage to help a person who is suffering from severe depression. When they hear that the local doctor is leaving to take his dying wife back to where she grew up, they are faced with a miraculous hope – can they adapt and stay permanently in the small isolated town?

Hollywood actor Corry Salinas ends up at Stone House by accident. He is quickly faced with his own loneliness and acknowledges that the years of fame only succeeded in making him a very lonely man, but an interesting discussion with Orla concludes that they both start testing new waters. The town seems mainly disinterested in the fact that Corry is famous and only interested in his kind nature, and it becomes a very healing vacation for the famous man.

Winnie’s idea of a romantic week away for her and her new boyfriend falls to pieces when she is forced to spend the week with his obviously disapproving mother. When Winnie and her future stepmom are stuck in a cave during high tide they manage to lay aside their differences and immediately start getting along. Will their new found friendship last or will they return to their previous underhanded catfights?

Rating: 7/10

On my usual weekly stroll of the book store I noticed a very peculiar thing – a MASSIVE mark down on some pretty decent novels that definitely fell in my normal reading range. Particularly, I noticed this Binchy book, BRAND SPANKING NEW, for TEN RAND. If you don’t live in SA you won’t understand this massive bargain in its context, so just trust me when I say it was a massive deal.

I haven’t read anything from this author previously, so I thought why the hell not and bought it. After finish the Green Mile, I started on this (yeah, totally different genres I know) and I was charmed enough to keep reading.

The book is written in a more narrative way, definitely not something I am used to, but still found very much enjoyable. There are a lot of characters but it didn’t get to a point where the characters overwhelmed the story being told.

I really grew to like Chicky, Orla and Rigger. None of them had an easy life but Stone House gave them a common purpose and something to work towards. I sympathised with the two doctors (I just sympathise with people in a medical field easily) and thought their eventual decision was quite touching. The Walls were very spoilt people that I didn’t like particularly, and also the headmistress that came on a vacation that was given to her as a gift was not one of my favourites, though I sympathised with her story.

I will definitely try out more of Binchy’s novels!

Recommendation: Although not for everybody, A Week in Winter will be enjoyed by a variety of female readers.