Bad Santa 2

Wow, this was a while ago. My badddddd.

Anyways, busy bee, starting to get my motivation back. Running beginning to go well again, been home quite a lot, viewing potential properties to move in to, that sort of thing!

Because of the potential move, I've also been going through all of my things, packing up stuff I don't need, preparing them for charity bags or just chucking them. 

Decluttering is making me feel soo good at the moment, it's so cleansing. Clutter really does take up space in your mind as well as physically in your house.

Well, enough of my new found minimalist-ness, on to the film review.

Bad Santa 2, oh dear, ahaha.

I'm not gonna lie, I couldn't wait for this to come out when I found out they were making a second one. The first is so so funny and I love watching it every Christmas even though it's so rude and dirty and not very Christmassy at all.

The second one, however, wasn't as good as the first but was fairly amusing. It was great to see all of the characters again and where they all were in their lives, especially Thurman Merman (Brett Kelly). He looks exactly the same but about ten years older, it's hilarious. Kathy Bates was also a great addition, playing Willie's estranged, unruly mother.

Billy Bob Thornton, as ever, nails his character as an alcoholic struggling to make money each month, choosing to become Santa once more to get a massive payout with none other than the guy who tried to kill him last time, Marcus (Tony Cox).

The storyline was funny but silly. Willie constantly has an internal struggle with his compassion, especially when it comes to Thurman (and somewhat his mother) so it's pretty similar to the first one in that respect.

Worth a watch just to see the follow up from the first one, but prefer the original and will continue to watch it every Christmas!

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Rating:
★★★☆☆



☽

Finding Dory

Image from Pinterest

So, this past week I've had off work which has been nice (hence the missed post on Wednesday, my bad).

I intended to go to Ireland for the week but decided to postpone it until the Spring due to a whole host of reasons.

Instead, I went home for a few days and saw a friend and my grandparents.

Walking my dog each morning amongst the blanket of golden leaves and the crisp blue skies was also well and truly needed.

But more on that in a later post, I have a handful of beautiful autumnal photos I would love to share.

This post, though, is about Finding Dory.

The first few minutes literally had me in tears. Adeel turned to me in the dark cinema and broke his heart-shaped hands in two. I couldn't help but laugh. How can five minutes into a Pixar film bring up so much emotion?

Like with Bridget Jones's Baby, I was worried this would let the first instalment down.

It did anything but that.

It was a fun, fast-paced tearjerker of an adventure pulling on every heartstring possible.

I loved how it managed to touch on some really sensitive subjects without getting to complicated to confuse children.

The new characters - a grumpy octopus named Hank, a whale shark named Destiny and a beluga whale named Bailey - were a lovely addition, adding humour and friendship into the mix.

Nemo and Marlin were great again reprising their former roles.

But a special mention to Ellen DeGeneres needs to be given because she really is amazing. She gives so much character to her regal blue tang, you can't help but be swept into Dory's search for her long lost parents.

The plot was a simple one, but definitely didn't fail to entertain.

It was a sweet and easy watch, one great for adults and children alike.

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Rating:
★★★★★

Bridget Jones's Baby

Image from Pinterest

I was so so so nervous about seeing this, being super worried it would let the other two down, but my God was it good.

I was obviously disappointed from the first reports of this being made to a film that Hugh Grant would not be reprising his role as Daniel Cleaver. But then again, the screenwriters/producer found a way of including him anyway which was a fairly amusing way to start and finish the film!

It also took me a surprisingly short time to warm up to Patrick Dempsey's character. Although, is it just me or was his voice a tad off putting? It's like David Beckham all over again, attractive man, weird voice.

I loved the subtle modern updates that were added, especially the new choice of music at the beginning to replace Celine Dion's All By Myself. 

Renee Zelleweger obviously needs a mention as, yet again, her Bridget is flawless and hilarious and so relatable it's unreal. I know people were dubious about the way she'd look considering the amount of surgery she'd had, but honestly I barely noticed it at all. It's also still so surprising that that's not her actual accent!

Colin Firth's character was a little depressing this time. Given that poor Mark Darcy had been through a lot but still. I was rooting for him throughout as a loyal Bridget Jones fan, but the plot definitely had you wondering who she would end up with, if either.

The plot was great. It was funny and sweet and sad and grown up but also childish. Bridget's trusty three companions made their amusing if brief appearances, as did her nutty parents.

I couldn't recommend this film more to be honest. I can't wait to watch all three in a row over Christmas.

Loved it!

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Rating: ★★★★★

The Name of the Wind (The Kingkiller Chronicles, #1)

By Patrick Rothfuss.

Narrated by Rupert Degas.

Image From Goodreads

[Told in Kvothe's own voice, this is the tale of the 
magically gifted young man who grows to be the 
most notorious wizard his world has ever seen.

The intimate narrative of his childhood in a
troupe of travelling players, his years spent as a
near-feral orphan in a crime-ridden city, his
daringly brazen yet successful bid to enter a
legendary school of magic, and his life as a
fugitive after the murder of a king form a 
gripping coming-of-age story unrivalled in recent
literature.

A high-action story written with a poet's hand,
The Name of the Wind is a masterpiece that
will transport readers into the body and mind of
a wizard.]

Oh my god, I am loving listening to audiobooks. Why did I not do this sooner?!

I can't believe distributing audiobooks is one of my main tasks at work and it took me a good six months before I even thought about, just maybe, listening to one myself. 

Duh, what an idiot.

The Name of the Wind is a brilliant, intriguing, fascinating read (or listen in my case).

So far, I can determine that it is about a young man's adventure through childhood alone - after an unfortunate, tragic event occurs to his family - and his ambition to get to the university, so that he can finally learn about (and I presume track down) the people that took his family away from him so soon.

It is longggggg (just over 28 hours worth), but it is so worth it. Every detail and minor action is thought of, it is so beautiful.

I did struggle initially to get to grips with it, but I think that's only because of it's quite complex story (to begin with) as you're thrown right into the middle of it and have to learn all these new characters and places and events and terminology that Rothfuss just made up.

I did enjoy Rupert Degas's reading though, he can do a multitude of voices very well and I can clearly tell all of the characters apart from this.

I also absolutely loved the characters. I got so drawn into their lives that - even though there wasn't a whole lot of action action - you're completely intrigued by all of the mundane events that goes on. 

You end up really really rooting for Kvothe as he always seems to get himself into some sticky situations. You also forget that the whole thing is pretty much him telling his story to a scribe, occasionally flitting back to the present day.

The friendships (and even the enemy-relationships) are beautifully done. There is humour and knowledge and disbelief all entwined. And even though Kvothe is meant to be in his mid-teens, I can't help but root for him to get the girl.

It does say in the blurb that he's a wizard and I would just like to clarify for anyone who wants to read this that he isn't a wizard in the sense like Harry Potter, but it is a story that includes an underlying magical theme. 

Basically, whatever you think you know of magical literature, put it aside and be prepared to get something fresh and fantastic. 

I can't believe this was all just one day of him telling his story with the promise overall of three days (obviously within this one day he has told the majority of his childhood and teenage years).

I am definitely hooked on wanting to know what happens next, following his story as he grows into his adult years can only get more interesting I believe! 

(I am currently about 15 hours into the sequel which is an astonishing 43 hours long!!)

Absolutely brilliant.