Tuesday 27 January 2015

Most Anticipated Films of 2015

Hello! Today I wanted to talk to you about the films that are released in cinemas this year, which I can’t wait to go and see. I’m sure I’ve missed some off this list, and there will definitely be a few films out this year which I haven’t seen the trailer for or I don’t know much about them yet.

Nonetheless, these are the films I want to go see in 2015 as of 26th January 2015.



Big Hero 6
30th January
It’s no secret that I am obsessed with Disney, and am in love with Marvel. So a Disney/Marvel crossover is my idea of heaven. I’ve been excited for this film for so long and I was really disappointed when it was released in the US October/November but we have to wait till January in the UK.  


Cinderella

13th March
Yes, another Disney film. I’m a little bit apprehensive about this one but the trailer looks magical and I’m trusting Disney to make a beautiful adaptation. Also, if this is good it means I can get excited for the live-action Beauty and the Beast adaptation starring Emma Watson! 

Insurgent

20th March
I only read the Divergent trilogy earlier this month, and I haven’t actually seen Divergent yet, but one of the things that pushed me to reading the series was the trailer for the Insurgent film. It looks so good and I’m sure Shailene Woodley is amazing as Tris.


Avengers: Age of Ultron
24th April
We got the teaser trailer for this back in October and since then I have been so excited for this film! The teaser is fantastic and I loved the “I’ve Got No Strings On Me” song of it. It’s a big “F*** YOU” to everyone who ever doubted Disney taking over Marvel. There are just so many parts of it I can’t wait for. I’m not going to go into detail because that could be an entire blog post on it’s own.
Extended UK Teaser Trailer – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PqkR0SwFN_4


Paper Towns
19th June
I still haven’t gotten round to reading Paper Towns by John Green, but I really enjoyed The Fault in Our Stars – both the book and the film, so I’m sure I won’t be disappointed by this.


Minions
26th June
Who doesn’t love the Minions from Despicable Me? I am getting really tired of film companies stretching out children’s films to get as much money as they can from them, (I mean, for Shrek, we have 5 full-length films, 6 short films, 2 TV series and a musical!) although I am still really looking forward to seeing Minions; I think it’ll be really funny and sweet.


Ted 2
10th July
I love Seth McFarlane. I think Family Guy, American Dad, Ted and A Million Ways to Die in the West are all amazing and hilarious (and The Cleveland Show wasn’t too bad either). I’m really happy that he’s making another Ted film and I can’t wait to see it!


Ant-Man
17th July
I must admit, I’m a little bit cautious about Ant-Man. The only things I really know about him came from The Ultimate Avengers graphic novel collection I own, and I must admit I didn’t really get him. I didn’t realise he was also Giant Man, and the Wasp, and a doctor, and other characters. I was very confused. But I’m keeping my mind open, I didn’t expect anything from Guardians of the Galaxy but now it’s one of my favourite Marvel films.


Inside Out
24th July
This is the last Disney film, I swear. Inside Out looks as though it could possibly be the best Pixar film so far, maybe. I’m so excited to see how Pixar have managed to depict the human brain and human emotions as actual characters. I feel so proud when I watch a new Pixar film and I can see how much they’ve grown and developed since their first few shorts and, of course, Toy Story.



The Fantastic Four
6th August
I love the old Fantastic Four films and I can’t wait to see the remake. I think the casting is great, although I am a little disappointed that Chris Evans isn’t playing the Human Torch – I would of loved a Avengers/Fantastic Four cross over where he was both Captain America and the Human Torch, not only would it have been great to have twice the amount Chris Evans screen time, there could have been a few comedic moments in there too. I guess we can’t have everything.  
Teaser Trailer - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e-BVs-KCSiA&feature=youtu.be
IMDB - http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1502712/?ref_=nv_sr_1


The Hunger Games: Mockingjay - Part 2
20th November
This is possibly the most anticipated film of 2015 for me, and I can’t believe I have to wait so long! I wasn’t expecting to enjoy Mockingjay Part 1 so much, I didn’t really like the book and I didn’t feel like it needed to be split into two films. I thought it had the perfect amount of detail in the film, and it ended in a great place. Jennifer Lawrence will be incredible in this, as always. I am so excited for this film!


That’s it! Please let me know in the comments or tweet me if you think I’ve missed something, and tell me what your most anticipated films of 2015 are!

Saturday 24 January 2015

The Humans by Matt Haig - Review

“Maybe that’s what beauty was, for humans. Accidents, imperfections, placed inside a pretty pattern.



Good Reads Synopsis
Our hero, Professor Andrew Martin, is dead before the book even begins. As it turns out, though, he wasn’t a very nice man--as the alien imposter who now occupies his body discovers. Sent to Earth to destroy evidence that Andrew had solved a major mathematical problem, the alien soon finds himself learning more about the professor, his family, and “the humans” than he ever expected. When he begins to fall for his own wife and son--who have no idea he’s not the real Andrew--the alien must choose between completing his mission and returning home or finding a new home right here on Earth.

My Thoughts
The Humans by Matt Haig is possibly my new favourite book. It’s definitely in my top 5. I’ve heard many people say that certain books have changed their life, but before reading this, I’d never thought that about any book before.

Matt Haig got the idea for this book whilst he was suffering from anxiety and felt separated from the rest of the world. He used his own experiences of this time to emphasise how Andrew Martin felt while trying to understand and fit into the human race.

This book is beautifully written, with some amazing and inspirational quotes. It is so easy to get into and has a remarkable plot. It’s funny, it’s sad, it’s embarrassing and most importantly, it’s fascinating. The character development of the alien who takes over Andrew Martin’s body is achieved brilliantly; as he learns more about humans, his opinions change and he slowly begins to understand what being “human” is about. Although the main character is literally from another planet, I found him to be relatable and also loveable. 

“Don’t aim for perfection. Evolution, and life, only happen through mistakes.”

It also has an interesting take on human life and behaviour; it points out everyday things, which we seem to be normal, and points out the strangeness in them. This book really makes you think about your everyday life and things that you do everyday but, from an outside perspective, don’t make that much sense.

“If getting drunk is how people forgot they were mortal, then hangovers were how they remembered.”

It also celebrates the best parts of the human race. Haig talks a lot about love and how that makes humans unique and makes up for all the bad things in a humans life, like death, pain and grief. It makes you appreciate not just the human race more, but your own life and experiences, whether they are good or bad. As a dog lover, I loved the importance of Andrew Martin’s dog, Newton, through out the story. Martin quickly grows fond of Newton, and takes more comfort in being with him than humans. This is something I’m sure many people have felt before, I know I’ve had many days where I would much rather be with my dog all day than actually be around people.

“Dogs are geniuses of loyalty. And that is a good kind of genius to have.” 

I’m giving this book, 5 out of 5 stars. It was a fascinating read, which really opened my eyes to some things that we do everyday but doesn’t make sense. One of the biggest messages that I got from the book is that we should try hard to be as happy as we can be and love the people around us. I would recommend this book to everyone, even to people that don’t read. This book really is life changing.

“Your life will have 25,000 days in it. Make sure you remember some of them.”


You can watch the trailer for this book here http://youtu.be/zX8V2OFHHbQ

Tuesday 20 January 2015

The Divergent Trilogy by Veronica Roth - Review




Good Reads Synopsis
In Beatrice Prior's dystopian Chicago world, society is divided into five factions, each dedicated to the cultivation of a particular virtue--Candor (the honest), Abnegation (the selfless), Dauntless (the brave), Amity (the peaceful), and Erudite (the intelligent). On an appointed day of every year, all sixteen-year-olds must select the faction to which they will devote the rest of their lives. For Beatrice, the decision is between staying with her family and being who she really is--she can't have both. So she makes a choice that surprises everyone, including herself.

My Thoughts
I’m going to try and make this review as spoiler free as possible, but I’m reviewing the whole trilogy, so I will be discussing what I did and didn’t like about the second and third books as well. I’ll try not to ruin any of the story for you.

Overall, I really enjoyed the whole series, I’ve read a lot of reviews where people hated it or they didn’t like the last book, but I honestly loved it all the way through.

Divergent and Insurgent were really fast paced and easy to get into, I couldn’t put them down! I read half of Divergent in one sitting without even realising I’d read so much. There is always something going on, forcing you to continue reading and there are so many twists and shocks. In the first two books there isn’t a dull chapter. Allegiant, however, was a bit more predictable and there wasn’t as much going on. I really hated that it split the first person point of view between Tris and Tobias. I love a good book with split POV but I thought it was quite badly written. A lot of Tobias’s chapters were quite boring, and the writing style didn’t change so I would forget that I was reading a Tobias chapter and think I was still reading from Tris’s point of view. This could have been done a lot better and I really disagree with having such a change in the last book of a trilogy.

I found it difficult to understand the society in the first few chapters of Divergent. The different factions aren’t really explained clearly and it took me a while to understand what was going on with them all. After the first 100 pages or so it all started to make sense. I loved that in Insurgent we learn more about all of the factions, not just the ones that are most important to the story. I felt like other similar dystopian novels fail on this part, in the Hunger Games there isn’t really a lot of explanation or depth into all of the different districts, but here it feels more like an actual society.

Most of the characters were well developed, I didn’t think there were many “2D” characters that had no meaning or point to them. I loved Tris, I thought she was easily relatable to and I didn’t hate her as much as I’ve hated other YA dystopian characters. She deviated from the typical “strong” female lead and she was shown to have some problems that aren’t seen to be “feminist”. I really liked this; I get tired of seeing the same character in every book.

I’d give the whole series 4.5/5, my favourite book was unquestionably Divergent, it was a strong first novel of a series which really grabbed my attention so I had to read the rest of the books. My least favourite was Allegiant, it wasn’t as interesting as the other two and the split point of view ruined it a bit for me.  I’d definitely recommend this book if you’re thinking of reading it, especially if you love YA dystopian series.