"If more of us valued home above gold, it would be a merrier world" - Thorin Oakenshield.

The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies Review

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I have finally, FINALLY, seen the final part of the hobbit! Took me bloody long enough!! 
(If you still haven't seen it and don't want to know what happens, look away ;D)

Ohmygod, I don't know where to begin. I love how it started smack bang in the action, right after we left it in The Desolation of Smaug, and those scenes were stunning. I know dragons aren't real and it was all special effects but I loved it. In fact, I think they killed Smaug off a little too quickly. And I still don't understand how Benedict Cumberbatch came up with that voice for him!

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To be honest, I think the entire cast nailed their respective roles and I'm going to have to go into detail for a couple of them (probably will be more than a couple actually, whoops)!

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Can I just start with Alfrid (Ryan Gage)? I know he's not even a main character but I think if an actor can make you loathe a character as much as he does (in this and in The Musketeers as King Louis, can I add?), that he is a brilliant actor. I just can't believe how much I disliked him in this. Yes, he had his funny moments, but he was such a coward. I thought he may have had a change of heart towards the end, but I was wrong!

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And then there's Bard (Luke Evans), wow. He is just beautiful (and his slight welsh accent kind of does it for me). I loved how he was always looking out for his family. I particularly enjoyed the scene where he rolls down a hill in a breaking cart into an ogre/monster and stabs it right in the heart. Brilliant.

Okay, now onto the really important characters. Having read the book a good few years prior, I remember well that my three favourite dwarves get killed off. Thorin (Richard Armitage), Kili (Aidan Turner) and Fili (Dean O'Gorman) were phenomenal. I think Armitage played Thorin exceptionally well, especially when the dragon sickness was taking hold of him. He always seems to play bad guys well, but I loved seeing him in a character battling against himself as well as others. I have to admit, at the turning point in his character, when he returns to his normal self and goes out to fight with his company, the tears started - and they didn't stop until I left the cinema!

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Bilbo. Ah Bilbo. What an actor Martin Freeman is. I think (except for Ian Holm of course), Freeman is the perfect Bilbo. He's funny, gives good heart-warming speeches and is just plain cute, if I do say so myself. Some of his mannerisms throughout were adorable and I couldn't quite figure out whether they were a part of the character or the actor!

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The rest of the cast - Ian McKellan, Orlando Bloom, Cate Blanchett, Hugo Weaving, Christopher Lee, Lee Pace, Evangeline Lily, Stephen Fry, Elijah Wood, Andy Serkis to name a few! - were also amazing. This has to be one of my all time favourite casts, they are all so talented!

Right, now onto the content. 

Considering I didn't review the first two films, this may go a bit off track, but, I quite liked the added character of Tauriel and her little love sub-plot with Kili. I'd read reviews before going in and some weren't keen on it and I thought it might let it down a little. But my dad also had a theory that there would be some dramatic love/death scene involving the two of them (as we both knew Kili at least had to die), and he was right. For a while I did think she would get it too, but the scene with Thranduil broke my heart (he is gorgeous as well!). But, my god, I cried a lot at that bit.

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I also loved how they interweaved Legolas and Frodo's characters into the narrative and how they tied it all up at the end with Thranduil telling Legolas to go and seek Aragorn! And then Saruman saying he'd take care of the situation with Sauron, the cheeky devil. LOVED IT.

Ooh ooh! & I also got a little vibe between Gandalf and Galadriel(?!). This wasn't really highlighted in The Lord of the Rings, although I don't really remember their characters coming across each others paths, but still, was there a slight romance going on there??

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To be honest, for the majority of the film I had to pee and couldn't pick a good point to leave, so I didn't! And as soon as Dain appeared I was trying to work out who bloody voiced him for an age! And then I worked it out and was happy at seeing Billy Connolly's name in the credits (which were just as stunning as the final Lord of the Rings credits)! I'm surprised I managed to keep up with the film through all of that.

Overall, I loved the action-packed finale and bawled my eyes out like a little baby. I'm so sad that it's all over! Will just have to wait to get all three extended editions to add to my Lord of the Ring ones and then try to watch them all in one day - challenge accepted! ;D

I hope I didn't ramble too much; I get a little overexcited when it comes to Middle Earth, oops.

Hope you enjoyed the review anyway, would love to know what anyone else thought?

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:')

Man Crush Alert

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I thought, as we're in between two of my favourite band members birthdays (coincidentally, they're in the same band), I would do a countdown of my favourite songs of theirs - individually and together. So be warned, this post is quite long! Although, it isn't filled with me rambling about them, just youtube videos.

The band members in question are Gary Barlow (January 20th birthday) and Mark Owen (January 27th birthday) from Take That. Yes, Take That. I promise I'm not one of those crazy fans. Well, I'm not that crazy. And I do realise that there is now only one other band member, but sh, I love them the same never the less.

I will be excluding favourite Take That songs sung primarily by other members (boo, I love Never Forget, but it won't make this list thanks to Howard's beautiful voice taking the lead).

So here goes:

Number 20 -

Relight My Fire

Number 19 -

Pray

Number 18 -

A Million Love Songs

Number 17 -

Kidz

Number 16 -

Reach Out

Number 15 -

Greatest Day

Number 14 -

The Flood

Number 13 -

Stars

Number 12 -

Hold On

Number 11 -

These Days

Number 10 -

Patience

Number 9 -

Let Me Go

Number 8 -

Face To Face

Number 7 -

Four Minute Warning

Number 6 -

Up All Night

Number 5 -

Said It All

Number 4 -

Shine

Number 3 -

Rule The World

Number 2 -

Believe In The Boogie

Number 1 -

Hold Up A Light

So, there it is. That was a difficult difficult decision to pick a number one and to in fact give them an order at all, but I stand by my choice. I cannot wait to go and see the boys in June at the O2 and I wish Gary and Mark a Happy Birthday <3

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:)

(This is my first time queueing a post. It should post on the 24th January I hope!)

Divergent Series Review

Okay, so I've decided to do my first book review - or trilogy review as I've read all 3 now. I'm really really into reading books. I always have at least one on the go. I remember in college, once, when I had four on the go. I have no idea how I managed to keep up with each individual storyline?! But anyways, the Divergent Series. Eep.

If you haven't read them, or do not want to know the ending or any details, I would look away now. I can't guarantee to keep my mouth shut on what happens!

Title:
Divergent, 
Insurgent,
Allegiant

Author:
Veronica Roth

Plot:
I thoroughly enjoyed all three books, but as pre-warned by my trusty friend, the third one was a slight disappointment.

Starting with Divergent, it was fast-paced and action-packed. I love the first person narrative as I feel you get more information on your protagonist, whereas you get less information for fellow characters - but this makes it all the more interesting in trying to figure them out! The ending is slightly different than the film, but I think the film changed it so as to have more of a dramatic fight scene at the end. I did enjoy more scenes between Tris and Four shown and the growth of their relationship. It also highlighted a lot more of the problems they were all dealing with, whether it be to do with their previous factions or jealousy/fear at being thrown out of their new one (the film misses out a crucial - or so I think - scene with Edward getting stabbed in the eye by Peter).

With Insurgent, as with its predecessor, I was enthralled all the way through and could barely put it down. I have to say, I love how Peter was one of those characters who kept switching sides all the way through - definitely kept you on your toes! The biggest shocker of all - beating the surprise appearance of Four's mother and the video message at the end revealing the outside world - was Caleb's betrayal! WHAT? I couldn't believe it. How could he betray his sister, his blood, for Jeanine Matthews?

Now, Allegiant. I had guessed from my friend's comments that someone pretty major died at the end. I hate to say I was right. But it wasn't who I initially thought it might be (thank God). Although, that's kind of bittersweet, because I definitely didn't want the actual character who died to be killed off either! The plot for this one was a bit odd if I'm honest. It was quite different from the previous two as the majority of it was based outside of the faction system in Chicago. I did love, though, how it switched between Tris' and Four's points of view.

Characters:

Beatrice 'Tris' Prior

Whether it's because I saw the film first or not, I don't know, but I didn't have too many problems with Tris. She got a little bit on my nerves when she kept being a tad selfish in Insurgent with her lack of respect for her own life. It also annoyed me that she couldn't be completely honest with Four for a long long time. But apart from that, she wasn't your usual whiney protagonist - which I greatly appreciated.

Tobias 'Four' Eaton

Again, I may be biased because of seeing the film, but I have to say I'm a little bit in love with Four. Although he was one of those broody characters, in the first one, that had a habit of either saving her life or ignoring her, once they were together together, it was fine. His brokenness/lack of self confidence was kind of cute.

Eric

Marcus Eaton

I feel all the other characters were well-developed as well, which is definitely a plus, and I definitely despised Eric, Marcus and Jeanine throughout - and even Caleb after his betrayal!

Jeanine Matthews

Caleb Prior

Ending:
I must admit, after finishing this series I felt a little empty. I normally feel that way after finishing a tv series completely or a book series (which is a little sad, I know), but it normally only lasts that evening. Whereas, when I finished this series I was just a bit in shock - hence why I'm only just posting my review (I finished reading them before the New Year!)

Seriously, if you don't want to know the ending, look away!

I expected the majority of the way through that Four would die and, to be honest, even when I was reading Tris' final scene (and Four's reaction and confirmation later on) I didn't believe that she was dead. I. Couldn't. Believe. It.

Four and the rest went back to Chicago - no more factions - and they all grouped together a bit later on to spread Tris' ashes. The fact that Four plucked up the courage to go on the zipwire to let her ashes fly behind him was really really cute. This made it very bittersweet for me.

I definitely had a little sob.

Film Adaptation:

The film was amazing in my opinion. Loved the casting (especially Mr Theo James), loved the pacing, the set, the costumes, everything.

Absolutely brilliant and cannot wait for Insurgent in March!

:)

* The pictures of each character are from pin interest and the trailer from YouTube.

Two Thousand and Fifteen To-Do List

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 I've been trying to think of New Years Resolutions for a week or two now, wondering whether I should bother making them or think of them more as objectives I would like to achieve, without the added pressure. I've definitely had a few of the same thoughts running through my mind for a while, so clearly those are the ones that have stood out and no doubt I will probably think of more as the year goes on, but I think I've covered the main points.

Number 1:

I would like to increase my blog posts per week, or at least keep to the once a week I had originally planned. Whether this will happen or not until the final term of university is out of the way I don't know. I would also like to link my posts with my social media accounts, make the layout more professional and interact more with other bloggers.

Number 2:

To finish editing the rest of my novel and hopefully find an agent/publisher by the end of the year. This may be a tad bit ambitious, but I love writing it!

Number 3:

To continue learning Spanish on duolingo. I used to hate learning languages in school, but this app is a Godsend, it's amazing and I've really learnt a lot.

Number 4:

I am adamant to go abroad this year, whether it be to Dubai to see my step-dad (and hopefully the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix if I'm lucky!) or to Paris to celebrate my upcoming 21st in March!

Number 5:

Number 4 would also cover the basis that I would like to overcome my fear of flying once and for all. In fact, I would like to keep getting better at facing any of my fears. 2014 was a huge step in conquering one of my main phobias and I hope to keep improving in 2015.

Number 6:

I would like to enjoy the rest of my time at university as it's my final couple of months and I would love to get a first in my degree! (That may also be a bit ambitious).

Number 7:

To be more grateful for everything I have/to stop taking things for granted/to sit back and appreciate small moments in my life that are making me happy. I don't do this often enough and I really need to, it would probably make me relax a bit more!

Number 8:

I've seen this one a lot on other peoples blogs, but I couldn't agree more with it: to say yes more. I need to stop worrying about what could go wrong and just enjoy everything!

Number 9:

To stop complaining about everything. Even if I could improve on this a little bit I'm sure I would be a lot happier! Which also goes with: to stop living in the past. I am terrible at this. I have recently been thinking of the future though and I am so excited and love planning for it.

Number 10:

To get back into exercising, even if it is just once or twice a week. I don't even want to lose weight, I just want to tone up and work on my abs! This also goes hand in hand with continuing to eat healthier. I definitely improved last year (although not necessarily decreasing the amount of chocolate I ate) and felt a big difference.

Overall, I am trying to be a better person this year and to enjoy myself more.

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Source - Am definitely going to do this as well, it's such a good idea!

I hope everyone has had a brilliant start to the year and am looking forward to posting more.

:)

The New Year

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First of all, Happy New Year! I spent the evening in good company feeling quite content with everything - which is odd, considering the past few months. 'Start the year as you mean to go on' I think the phrase goes. 

It is definitely time for a fresh start and I am hoping to be more positive about the following year, with some great things to look forward to.

Also, there are many of these posts around at the moment, so I apologise if you're sick of them, but I need to get back into the blogging spirit and what better way than to start with a recap of 2014?

From what I remember, last January didn't get off to the best of starts. But I do remember bringing in the new year with my boyfriend, nachos and a Game of Thrones marathon! 

Mmmm, nachos <3

Later on (in about March I think), I got my first proper job - a paper round sooo doesn't count - and although I had a few apprehensions about it, I have thoroughly enjoyed every shift I have done so far. It's definitely not easy being a waitress so I appreciate the service I get when I do go out to restaurants now!

Practice bun for my interview :)

As the second year of University came to a close, things seemed to be on the rocks with my relationship and I threw myself into work - 8 to 11 hour shifts in 30+ degree heat is not something I am going to forget any time soon! But the experience and money, I am grateful for.

A snap from the beginning of Second Year

Third year was drawing ever nearer and nerves were starting to kick in and to top off September, my relationship was at an end. It has been an awful lot of hard work - university and getting through my first break up (not that I think I'm anywhere near through it). I underestimated the sheer amount of work they would give you in your last year too, but, hey ho, only about 3 more months to go!

I've definitely got a few resolutions lined up that I'm going to make for 2015, but that'll be in the next post so it's not too long!

Hope everyone has had a good New Year's :)

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:)