four across, five down

Eventually, I will get round to doing a proper blog about something suuper exciting but until then here's a mini one about one of my daily habits! I have taken it upon myself the past few weeks to do a crossword everyday, partially so I can use big words and be better at pub quizzes, but mainly because I want to be as happy as this lady when I reach the autumn of life...

For ultimate brain expanding, I would recommend the guardian quick crossword (http://www.guardian.co.uk/crosswords/series/quick) because they tend to chuck in a couple of easy ones amongst the nasties to make you feel less intimidated, they have a cheat function so unlike paper versions, you can always finish it and not have to wait in pain for the next issue, and from time to time their clues are quite amusing. Here are a few of my personal favourites;

Slim around the lower middle (5-6): Snake-Hipped

Dance slowly while in an embrace (6): Smooch

I beg your pardon! (2,3,4): Do you mind

Fast piano blues style (6-6): Boogie-woogie

Muscular attractive men (8): Beefcake

Clumsy (3-6): Ham-Fisted

Sob noisily (6): Boohoo

Verbal dispute (4-5): Argy-Bargy

Happy clue-busting!
Amy.

Submarine

I thought actually being able to watch Submarine was going to be a mean feat (as it is primarily being played in cities); a trip to London had been organised and everything. But by chance I double checked good old Empire Basildon's website on Monday evening and to my surprise Submarine had been added to their (until then) bleak list of commercial nonsensical films; albeit it was still only being played in their 'studio' screens. I am not going to try and convince myself, or the 5 (max.) of you reading this that I can use pretentious film review language effectively, so I will communicate my feelings about this film in my simple History undergraduate vernacular.

The film is set in the mid 1980's and follows the highly original narrative of Oliver Tate, a fifteen year old in South Wales. Warming to Oliver is almost inevitable because of the role the audience fulfills. The viewer is part of what Oliver deems his imaginary audience, in the self-directed film of his minds-eye. His emotions and thoughts are unbarred and even though it is set over 20 years ago, the teenage feelings of self discovery, realisation and disillusionment have survived over generations. Director and writer, Richard Ayoade, (actor: IT Crowd, Mighty Boosh) has been compared to Wes Anderson in many reviews of the film. Anderson is one of my all time favourite film-makers and I appreciate that Ayoade is perhaps similar to Wes in his attention to detail and unconventional techniques, for example the division of the film in to sections (Prologue, Part 1, Part 2, Epilogue). Yet, it remains that Ayoade has his own distinction as a director, shown most notably through the aforementioned enticing narrative of the protagonist Oliver (something that is missing in Anderson's films); and the film's quintessentially British humour.

Without spoiling the film for you my dear friends, if you have yet to see it, the plot revolves around Oliver's romance with the red-duffle coat donning Jordana. However more central to the film, in my opinion, is Oliver's quest to keep his parent's wilting marriage alive. Noah Taylor, who plays Oliver's taciturn marine biologist father, deserves a special mention for the hilarious scene in which he gives his son romantic encouragement and advice; this involves the gift of a mix tape which mirrors the different stages of a relationship.

I will end on this note: I think you should go and watch it, ignore my opinion and anyone else's you might have read/heard and think of it what you will.

Hannah

Terminator 2: Judgment Day

 

Being a young girl with two brothers I was quite interested in action and ‘boy stuff’ when I was little, amusing myself with Barbie’s and playing with action men when my brothers left the room.

I was around the age of 4 when I got my first chance to see Terminator 2, little did I know my life was about to change.  Perhaps it was the fact that my brother and I were far too young to watch it that made it so exciting but it was probably the sheer genius of the film that got us so interested.  It has everything; A Hero Father figure, a powerful strong woman, a brave young (attractive, yet now I realise slightly girly sounding and not so attractive) John Connor. There’s plenty of Action, heart, a baddy, guns, a great storyline etc etc. 

I’m not sure how many times I, let alone my family have watched Terminator 2.  I remember watching it a lot with my two brothers and my mum when I was younger, not having even seen Terminator 1 but that didn’t matter to me. I’ve now only watched it twice, once on the telly and then again in the cinema for the 25^th anniversary, very exciting stuff, amazing graphics.

A while back I bought T2 on DVD for us to watch at Christmas, my brother having not watched it in some years still knew all the words and I still get just as excited and anxious every time I see liquid metal running after the Connor Clan.

I’m eagerly awaiting the anniversary of number 2, I’ll be first in line at the cinema to see my Hero, Arnie saving the world, bringing back memories of simpler times and taking anyone that wants to see the best movie of all time with me.

Amelia.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kI9-k9AkF9c&feature=related

Jason Schwartzman

When we first decided we were definitely going to start this blog it took me a total of one whole minute to decide not what, but rather who, I was going to write about. If there is one man that I have never met but still insist on loving, it is Jason Schwartzman. Firstly, although not completely relevant, he comes from one of the coolest film families ever: the Coppola's. His mother is actress Talia Shire (Adrian Balboa in Rocky) the sister of master director Francis Ford Coppola (The Godfather triology). Jason's cousins include the directors Sofia Coppola and Roman Coppola aswell as Nicholas Cage. He is best known as a comedy actor, making his first on screen appearance in the truly unique director Wes Anderson's second film, Rushmore (1998), in which he played the main character Max Fischer at the remarkable age of seventeen. However he entered most people's radar in his 2010 appearance as Gideon Graves in Edgar Wright's Scott Pilgrim vs. The World. In television, Jason is the star of a HBO series created by Jonathan Ames called Bored to Death. He plays a struggling writer who on a post-break up depression induced whim harboured by a love for detective novels, advertises himself as an unlicensed private detective. Along with Ted Danson, Zach Galifanakis, a string of absurd cases and a lot of cannabis, the show is incomparable and one of the funniest  programmes around in recent years. His music performed under the name Coconut Records completes his unparalleled talent. But despite all this Jason appears to be commercially unknown, the only reason that I can attribute to this strange fact is that the majority of people don't have a sense of humour or good taste.

One of the things I feel positive about after watching endless interviews with Jason is that he is naturally hilarious and consequently, people love to be in his company. Although this clip isn't an interview, but instead an advert for the New Yorker Ipad app. directed by his cousin Roman, I think it sums up why I love him so much. Enjoy.

Hannah.

we LOVE windows

So i'm going to kick off my first post with news from my recent trip to London for my visual merchandising elective! Being in Nottingham at Trent Uni I rarely get to travel home to London so when I do it's always exciting, and this trip was definitely anything but disappointing. Its amazing to see many designer brands investing in their window displays and interesting to see how the high street retailers are keeping up.  Here are some of my favourites from the day, enjoy!

own images - 17/02/2011 

Selfridges windows were especially installed for london fashion week which was just about to start. I really enjoyed the use of technology which many brands are incorporating into their window displays.

Mulberry, continuing from their 'Dolls and Roses' story are focusing on a secret garden theme for LFW. I love the fact that they have opened up the windows, allowing a passerby to see into the store, and with the new design of the flagship, the ability to see right to the back. 


Mulberry have created two distinct sections in the new Bond Street location, the front hosting the Garden room where tables are transformed into lily pads, hosting the new seasons collection, and as you pass through the store to the second section, the Drawing room is host to the core product base.


Emily.