Following on from part 1 of my 20 second reviews of our Lovefilm selections, here are some more of our rental titles:

The Game Plan
24 August 2008

Ok so this film wont win any awards.  I know this.  But I love Dwayne Johnson (I am trying to stop calling him The Rock since it is clearly what he wants but Dwayne? Really? Ok then). This is a family movie, feel good, cute and funny.  The child actor (pictured above) is toothache-cute and Dwayne is not afraid to laugh at himself which I admire.  (I also admire his arms). This is a Sunday afternoon movie and I will probably watch it again if it happened to be on TV.

American Gangster
28 August 2008

I am not used to seeing Denzel is such a baddass, meanie role but he played it well which is hardly surprising.  The film is an intricately woven account of drug trafficking and police corruption in Harlem in the early 1970s.  Although there was a smart script, great performances from Washington and Russell Crowe and it was most enjoyable while I was watching it, it had no lasting impact.  I am not sure I would watch this again.

National Treasure – The Book of Secrets
16 September 2008

Look, I know it’s very fashionable to mock Mr Cage and especially this franchise.  He is a little odd.  And his films of late do leave a lot to be desired (I am looking at you, Knowing).  but I can’t help it.  I liked this film! It was a fun, exciting, ridiculous, funny jaunt.  Diane Kruger is rather lovely (although she is currently dating Pacey so she is not in my good books).  All in all, it is harmless fun and should not be expected to be anything more.

The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford
16 September 2008

Despite it’s really long title, this film was sensational.  Brad Pitt and Casey Affleck (Ben’s lil brother) delivered amazing performances both.  Rather than be a good old western, the look of the film was exquisite and it is presented as a psychoanalytical historical epic rather than a shoot-em-up western.  It was based on a novel with the same name which I would like to read at some point (although I don’t fancy my chances).  I want to see this film again and soon.

We Own the Night
25 October 2008

The opening scene of this film was very raunchy (oh my god, I am turning into my mother!) but set the scene for the feel of the movie which shows the seedy lifestyle of a nightclub owner played by Joachim Phoenix as well as the possibly harder life of his dutiful policeman brother, played by Mark Wahlberg (who knew he would become such a big hitter with real talent?!).  This review on Rotten Tomatoes sums it up for me:

A grown-up thriller about morality and the consequences of choice, We Own The Night harks back to an earlier era. A cast of heavy-hitters give it all a solid, polished sheen.

Check back soon for part 3!

Plinky asked the question ‘List the advice you give to a friend getting over a bad breakup.’ I couldn’t think of anything worse given the banality of anything I could say in such a situation. Still I gave it a try:

There are plenty more fish in the sea.
It helps teach the use of metaphor. Which is always helpful when you are heartbroken.

Time heals all wounds.
So vague, so unreassuring. Time can be really long.

Everything happens for a reason.
Just try not the obsess about how the reason is because you are a loser.

You are so young, you have time to find the right one.
Of course, if you aren’t young then, yikes…

You are too nice for him.
And let’s hope you don’t get back together now I have said this as that would be awkward.

Rich and I started our Lovefilm subscription some time ago and we have some months where we struggle to gt through the 4 films that are sent and others where it’s no problem.  Sometimes this is down to how busy we are but often it is because of the film.  we may receive a film through that one or both of us really wants to see (hence it’s inclusion in our list) but when it arrives, it is hard to get motivated to actually watch it.  Enduring Love has sat on our TV stand for weeks now and though I do really want to see it, I am never in the mood!

So here is part one of a series of 20 second reviews of  each film we have watched so far using our subscription:

Jumper
27 June 2008

The book on which the film was based is sitting my reading pile (though is woefully near the bottom due to the number of book I have to read for my OU course).  Apparently the book is better than the film but that said, the film was still very enjoyable and exciting.  It has a fairly unusual concept and Hayden Christiansen was pretty well cast although he is one of those actors I can never fully get behind.  I guess playing a young Darth Vader is going to leave it’s mark.  I won’t go out of my way to watch again but if there’s nothing else on, I probably won’t turn it off.

Dan In Real Life
27 June 2008

I loved this movie.   Steve Carell takes time out of his madcap role as Michael Scott on The Office to deliver a poignant performance of a widowed father finding new love.  The family dynamics in the film are very authentic and I could watch Juliette Binoche wash dishes.  Dane Cook was a total revelation to me.  I had only ever encountered him with clips of his stand up which is not really to my taste. He seems like a bit of a douche, to be honest.  But in this film, he showed he can actually act and emote.  Well played.  I want to own this movie so I can watch it over and over.

Southland Tales
8 July 2008

Oh dear.  I wanted to like this film, I really did.  I had heard reports of its suckage but also watched a few interviews with the many cast members.  They seemed so in love with it and so enthusiastic and yet, alas, it was a bit rubbish.   I think they were trying for something really deep. I think they failed.  This review from Rotten Tomatoes captured my feelings exactly:

Whether this is a demented B-movie or a comment on demented B-movies is hard to say. It is horribly fascinating, if not for the full 150 minutes.

I will voluntarily never watch this again.

30 Days of Night
8 July 2008

I love zombie and / or vampire films.  This dark, tense thriller did not disappoint.  I even didn’t mind Cowbag being in it (aka Melissa George who I loved as Angel but then broke our hearts as Vaughn’s new wife in Alias – the nickname ‘cowbag’ is well-known amongst the Alias forum-dwellers of old).  Josh Hartnett played his role superbly and the scary badass head vamp played by Danny Huston was also excellent, although I went the whole film wondering when Neil Tennant had started acting.   This is a film I would love to see again sometime but I doubt we will buy it.  Unless we already have and I have just forgotten in which case, yay!

The Other Boleyn Girl
21 July 2008

I think I enjoyed this film.  It was entertaining, pretty to look at but it was not the sort of film that really stays with you.  The costumes were luscious and the chemistry between Scarlet Johansson’s Mary Boleyn and Eric Bana’s Henry VIII was palpable but then I challenge any man not to feel a bit hot under the collar with Scarlet.  Natalie Portman was very good as Anne too but the overall effect meant that I was left not liking anyone very much which makes it hard to give a crap.  I’d rather not watch it again.

Charlie Wilson’s War
21 July 2008

Well I am glad to leave the post on a high note.  This film was vastly entertaining, gripping, enlightening and very well made.  Tom Hanks, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Amy Adams and Julia Roberts are all class acts.  This film was a fascinating insight into the cold war with some terrifying revelations (for me at least!).  The extras on the DVD were excellent with documentaries about the making of the film and about the real Charlie Wilson.  I will most definitely want to watch this film again at some point in the future.

Check back soon for part 2!

Easy.

Black, black and more black. I know it’s not revolutionary or trend-setting but black is kind. Black is exciting. Black is dangerous. Black makes it easy to hide dirt.

It may be a bit later than planned, and it wasn’t on my to-do list but this evening, I did it.  I made Parkin! And it was GOOD! This recipe was given to me by my mum which means it probably came from my grandma.  So here it is for your pleasure.

Ingredients:

4 oz margarine (today I used unsalted butter)
8 oz plain flour
8 oz oatmeal (I used 100% wholegrain rolled oats)
4 oz golden syrup (for ease of measurement, I used 4 dessert spoons)
4 oz black treacle (again I used 4 dessert spoons)
4 oz caster sugar (I know, so sweet but so gooood!)
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp ground ginger
1 level tsp bicarbonate of soda (not baking powder)
pinch of salt (I left this out AND used unsalted butter and it tastes fine but you decide!)

1. Preheat oven to 150°.
2. Melt fat.  Add syrup, treacle, sugar and warm over very low heat until sugar dissolves.
3. Sieve dry ingredients into a bowl.  Make a well.  Gradually beat in the liquid from the pan along with a beaten egg.
4. Mix to a soft consistency, adding a little milk if needed. (The mixture was a bit stiff so I added some milk and I think this made all the difference.)
5. Pour into a greased flat tin so the mixture is about an inch deep.



6. Bake for about 40 minutes.



7. Partly cool in the tin and then turn out to finish cooling on a rack





8. Cut into square and enjoy!

• Sell all our crap on Ebay. We have a *lot* of stuff from cameras to TV senders to CD players to alarm clocks to DVD boxsets.
• Print some photos for a photo album I bought for Rich for our wood anniversary (ie our fifth anniversary ie in 2008)
• Finish making the Christmas decorations I started before last Christmas.  I have since bought another set from the same place so have 6 in total to make now (well, 5 3/4).
• Start making Halloween decorations.  I bought all the gubbins before Halloween this year and didn’t get chance to make anything so I better start now ready for next year.
• Finish making the sampler quilt for our bedroom.  I need to make about 20 squares and I have made 2.  I started more than 2 years ago.  At this rate, it should be finished in 2028 or thereabouts.
• Make mini-scrapbooks to save all the memorabilia that I have collected over the years.  I bought all the supplies last year.
• Make our wedding scrapbook.  For our wedding which was in 2003.
• Read all the books on my bedside table:

my on-my-bedside-table shelf:


• Watch Season 2 of 24, Planet Earth, The Underworld trilogy, the rest of season 2 of The Flight of the Conchords, and a whole host of other DVDs that we have but have not yet watched (/rewatched).

God, this list is hilarious yet depressing.

Oh lordy, another new weekly feature? I am really asking for trouble.  Anyway, I love thinking about superpowers (and superheroes for that matter) so this week’s poll is about powers.  Which of the following would you choose:

*A while back, Rich and I were discussing which superpower we would have if we could only have one. I asked if Superman’s ability to fly really fast was one power or two (ie the power of flight and the power of super speed).  I said didn’t want the power of flight if it meant I could only fly as fast as I could run.  Rich laughed for a really long time.  And then shook his head with pity.

I hesitate to announce a new weekly feature because I know Me and Me is not that great at following through on these things (anyone remember Word of the Day that quickly became Word of the Week and then disappeared forever into the mist?).  However, I do feel like those of you who follow my blog but do not read my Tumblog will miss out on the fun stuff which I used to share here before Tumlbing became a regular past time.  Now when I find a funny picture or video, I share it there, where my Tumblr buddies can ‘like’ and ‘reblog’ to their hearts’ content.  So I thought I could pick ten of my favourite finds from the past week.  Are you ready?? In not particular order, let me present:

The baby cage- from “30 Dumb Inventions”: “A nanny supervising a baby suspended in a wire cage attached to the outside of a high tenement block window. The cages were distributed to members of the Chelsea Baby Club in London who have no gardens, or qualms about putting a child in a box dangling over a busy street. Photo: Reg Speller/Getty Images. Jun 23, 1937”

Bags made from vintage books

“dollar sign hat and dollar sign hat hat” As my Tumblr buddy John Cabrera put it, 'It’s almost there for me. If it was just one more hat deep, I’d be sold.'

This awesome site takes quotations from novels and memoirs and pairs them with unconnected but fitting pictures. Massive timesuck warning!

Duck fail

Good advice from a blog dedicated to rules for an unborn son.

Jon Stewart + the Mets = instant reblog.

Anyone else read Sweet Valley High when they were tweenagers? This gem was shared by the brains behind the superb Dairi Burger blog.

Sometimes I just find an image that speaks to me. This one says 'Buy another pair of Converse. Boots, this time please.'

This is how I found out that Glee was not on this week because of the World Series. As a Mets fan once so wisely noted, Yankees suck.

Today, we have our friends Steve and Ev coming to visit.  It is the first time we have seen them since their wedding (which I didn’t get to as it was the same day as my cousin Alison’s wedding).  Rich managed to drive down to Hampshire, be a witness for them at their wedding (a lovely surprise!) and then drive all the way up to Manchester for Alison and Matt’s reception.

We are hoping to get to one of the the fireworks displays being held in the area tonight.  Warwick has one at the racecourse.  There is a display held at the rugby club in Leamington.  I hear that the Kenilworth display is really good as you get to watch the fireworks by the castle.  I am hoping to make some parkin and mulled wine to take with us.  Of course, if it rains then we will be staying in the warm!

On Wednesdsay night, we had our first Sew Make Believe workshop at our new venue.  Caroline showed us how to make super-cute sock toys, specifically zebras like Charlie above.  We didn’t quite finish on Wednesday night but we did manage to get all the basics and then I put in the finishing threads when I got home.

I call her Charlie because although she is a girl, she is quite the little tom-boy.  And just look at that nose, so cute.  If a little wonky.

I predict a lot more sock toy making in my future.