Where do you watch films?

I've had a very busy week this week and haven't actually had time to watch any films (oh noo). So, this is not a film review, infact it is more of a ramble about where I like to watch my films. There are various different options for where you can watch a film and in what attire and I want to try and decide which is my favourite.

Firstly we have the Cinema. I always find that when I am in the cinema my bum goes to sleep, does any one else have this problem? Then, when it's busy you have all the noisy audience members rustling sweet wrappers and even checking their phone... Just stop!! And for all you fashion bloggers out there, it's just not acceptable to go out in public in my comfy clothes, I have to put on a pair of jeans and shoes and make myself look remotely presentable. However where the cinema excels is with its ginormous high definition screen which is greatly appreciated by someone as short sighted as me combined together with its awesome surround sound that makes you feel like you're in the centre of the action. I suppose an additional bonus is the occasional slushy as a treat to drink during the film.

Next, sitting at home on the Sofa. Now this is a much more comfortable and casual option, I can literally crawl out of bed, with a blanket, put the television on, and lie on the sofa with easy access to the kettle for cups of tea...ahhh bliss! However there is the compromise of a smaller screen, with no surround sound. And if I'm watching the film during the day, that one strip of sunlight across the screen that no matter how I close the curtains, it still won't go!

Of course how could I forget my Bed. Now this spot is for the super lazy, I mean, I don't even have to move, I just switch the television on and lay wrapped up in my duvet like a caterpillar. I have a black out blind which removes the irritation of the sun and makes its feel more like the cinema. My only issue is as explained earlier... I am short sighted and my tv is rather far away from my bed making it hard to see and focus on after a long day staring at a computer screen.

Lastly, what about a Pillow & Blanket Fort? Obviously this option takes the most effort, but isn't it also the most rewarding? I suppose that depends on your maturity level. You have to take your time building a comfortable base with lots of pillows and then structure the roof with blankets and chairs (don't even get me started on tidying it away once I'm finished). If built correctly it should revolve around your tv (so it's easily visible from inside) and should block out the sun with ease. You can the crawl in, in whatever attire you like (comfies are preferred), take in a supply of snacks, and then hide from the world in your own personal fort.

Now once you've decided on where you want to watch a film, you then have the task of deciding what film to watch.... And let's be honest, that's the hardest part!

I hope you've all enjoyed reading, and questions just comment below, or add me on Twitter @ThatFilmCritic_

J

Marathon day...

Ahh the marathon day, to some, a 26 mile run, but to others a series of films watched one after the other, much more time consuming but a little less energetic.. Personally I prefer the latter.

Today I have gone for the Lord of the Rings trilogy and given that I am spending 9 -10 hours sat on the sofa I thought it was about time I gave you all another post. However as the Lord of the Rings has been around for some years now and most people already have an opinion on it, I felt it was more appropriate to write a review on The Theory of Everything.

I thought this film was amazing, I became very emotionally attached to the characters and felt myself tearing up along side them.

Eddie Redmayne (Stephen Hawking) gave an incredible performance and I 100% support his Oscar nomination. I can't imagine it was an easy part to play as he will have had to avoid over exaggerating/acting in fear of offending people who suffer from MND. In my opinion he played the part flawlessly. Felicity Jones (Jane Hawking) played along side Eddie with another beautiful performance both actors complimented one another which kept the audience engaged and attached to the characters

If I'm honest there isn't much bad I can say about this film, I thoroughly enjoyed going to watch it. I hadn't been aware of the struggles that Stephen Hawking and his family had been through, so it was a great insight and it really made me respect and cherish what I have. I would definitely recommend watching this film.

Thank you all for reading.

J

Tuesday Night Fun...

So this Tuesday I went to see Taken 3, and if I am honest, after watching Taken 2 I didn't have particularly high hopes. However I was pleasantly surprised.

Personally I'm in shock that anyone had the audacity to attack his family again. Seriously who is that stupid? To be fair other than a quick convorsation with the chief inspector it was almost as if the first two films hadn't happened.

I found the film to be very predictable (as was the second) as I immediately guessed who the culprit was within 15 minutes of the film starting. It was your standard Taken film where someone wrongs Brian Mills' (Liam Neeson) family and he causes mahem trying to avenge this wrong doing. Luckily the writers went for some variance this time, rather than a kidnapping followed by a one man war so save them this film showed Brian being assisted by his old work colleagues/friends in order to finish the job. I felt the plot was better thought through this time and was more original.

Liam Neeson's performance was played out just as well as in the other two films, and in Non-Stop, and Unknown... Basically it's a character he plays a lot and has become very good at portraying. 

For those of you that have seen it, who else noticed that the actor playing Stuart had changed from the first film? From a 53 year old, American, grey haired Xander Berkeley to a 49 year old, British, black haired Dougray Scott, and I thought time was supposed to have passed since the first film? 

Maggie Grace (Kim Mills) gave a good performance of damsel in distress as in the previous two films. She had an air of attidude about her, perhaps that was from experience of these situations (she is very unlucky), I guess that is what we are supposed to assume.

It was most definitely an improvement on the second film and if you're looking for action packed, car explosions, shootings and car chases this could be the film for you!

Thank you for reading and as always if you have any questions please comment below.

J.

My first unlimited card...

Okay so I got a little giddy this weekend as I finally got to use my Cineworld Unlimited card... I strutted into the cinema, flashed them my card and cruised on into the film, without paying a penny (let's just ignore the monthly subscription fee coming out of my bank account). 

So the film I chose to see was Into The Woods, which apparently was originally an onstage musical (I actually didn't know that going in). It is set around various fairytails that have the characters interacting with one another all the way through the story and it is all tied together by a plot involving a childless baker and his wife on their quest to start a family. You will see childhood favourites such as Rapunzel, Jack and the Beanstalk, Little Red Ridinghood, and of course Cinderella. 

Now as you've probably guessed from my review of Pitch Perfect I do love a good sing song, and this was no exception. However do not go expecting a ballad that replicates that of Frozens 'Let it Go' as the melodies are designed to follow natural speech rhythms or thought processes which aren't always so smooth. Luckly I took a musical theatre expert with me who was the one that explained this to me.

As for the performances, I always forget how well James Cordon (Childless Baker) can sing, and for those of you that have seen the film of Les Mis you will definitely recognise Jack (Daniel Huttlestone) as the young Gavroche who was shot in the middle of the revolution. Personally I found Chris Pine's (Prince Charming) performance somewhat lacking, I believe he came across more smarmy than charming and showed more charm as Captain Kirk in Startrek. Johnny Depp appears as the Wolf and everyone that knows the story of Little Red Ridinghood know just how short lived his character was. Meryl Streep gave a great performance as the Witch, a strong character throughout who is 'helping' the Baker and his wife on their quest. Lastly Anna Kendrick appears as Cinderella I felt her performance was good, except it mostly consisted of her running through the woods, away from the prince, so how hard is it really to get that wrong, I love her singing and admitably might have a little crush on her so it is understandable that my favourite song from the film has to be the duet between the Baker and Cinderella called No One is Alone.

The film itself I felt was a little long, it seemed it should end at the wedding with all the happy endings when in reality there was another 30 minutes to go. 

I would highly recommend the film to any musical theatre fans or Disney nuts out there like me as it is well worth going to see.

If you have any questions or would like my opinion in any other films please comment below... I don't bite!

I would also like to say that I'm new to blogging but have really enjoyed meeting all the bloggers that I've met so far and look forward to meeting more!!

Thank you for reading.

J.

Christmas is Over... Oh-no!

Okay so I'm sure a lot of you are going through the same thing today, Christmas and New Years are over and it is now time to take the decorations down, begin our diets and get back to work. 

So whilst depressingly packing away all the Christmas films like Elf, The Grinch, Love Actually, and New Year's Eve for another 11 months until it becomes socially acceptable to watch them again, I decided to grab a blanket, put the kettle on and pull out one of my favourite films, Pitch Perfect, to end the day on a high note (no pun intended).

Now I am aware my opinion on this is going to be totally biased as I literally know the film word for word (which is really irritating the rest of my family watching it with me...oops). 

I have to say my favourite scenes are the audition scene with Kelly Clarkson's - Since You've Been Gone and the Cup Song which most of you will remember became a bit of an Internet craze in 2013, and the Riff Off scene with a well performed acapella version of Blackstreet's - No Diggity.

As for characters, who doesn't love Fat Amy/Patricia (Rebel Wilson), her over the top comedy character creates laughs all the way through particularly with her mermaid dancing, horizontal running and her ability to avoid answering awkward questions. The competition commentators (Elizabeth Banks and John Higgins) add humour with their sly digs at the performances and personally I relate to the fellow movie addict Jesse (Skylar Astin) and have, since watching, used the term 'Moviecation' multiple times.

I would recommend this film if you enjoy a bit of singing and are looking for a film that isn't very serious, which creates a false representation of university life with a predictable love interest throughout. 

I am very excited for the second film coming out in May this year.

I hope you've enjoyed reading, follow my Twitter for updates on my posts @ThatFilmCritic_ and if you have any comments or questions please do comment below.

Thank you.

J.

Happy New Year!

Happy New Year everyone! I can't believe it, 2014 is over already. As it is 2015 now I figured I should make a start with my New Years resolution and get blogging.

Who else is hungover today? The hangover day is a great concept, it's basically an excuse to sit on the sofa and watch films all day long, which I am very good at. So I had my tea and my popcorn and was faced with my first dilemma of the day... What do I watch? 

Eventually I settled on 'Man of Steel' not to everyone's taste but admitably DC and Marvel are somewhat of a guilty pleasure for me, and having grown up watching Superman and Smallville, Man of Steel just seemed right. I find the film seems to assume that the watcher has a basic knowledge of superman, having watched the film with my 9 year old brother I found myself answering a lot of questions about superman that the film just didn't cover. 

The film begins on Krypton with the birth of Superman and shows us the reason why he was sent to earth in the first place. This is quickly followed by a montage of him growing up which personally I found to be the best part of the film. What then followed can really only be explained as a series of fights and explosions. In particular, I felt the final fight scene between Superman (Henry Cavill) and General Zod (Michael Shannon) dragged on a little too long. Luckily for me the film wasn't one I needed to pay too close attention to and I could complain about being hungover without missing something important in the film. It is definitely worth a watch (especially if you are a DC fan like myself) just maybe don't get your hopes up too high for it. However Henry Cavill was a good choice to play Superman he portrayed the character just as I expected superman to be and definitely has the physique to play him. I can only imagine the dieting and training he will have gone through.

I think that's enough for my first real post don't you? If you have any questions please do comment.

Thanks for reading.

J.

Hello Blogging...

This is my first attempt at blogging. Given the numerous amounts of films I watch both on DVDs and in the cinema I have set myself a New Years resolution to blog about them (I think my friends are tired of hearing my opinion on every film I've been to see).

I'm going to start this blog by sharing with you 10 of my favourite films which will hopefully help you understand the kinds of film reviews you might see. I will try and post a review at least once a week and if you follow me on Twitter (link in the bio) I will tweet everytime it is updated.

1. Forrest Gump

2. A Knights Tale

3. How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days

4. Pitch Perfect

5. The Dark Knight

6. The Terminal

7. How To Train Your Dragon

8. Guardians of the Galaxy

9. The Lion King

10. The Hunger Games

Thank you for reading.

J.