The Film Club #2

The Film Club #2

Welcome to the film club! Here are the films I've been loving the past month that I want to share with you...

Inside Out

I may be approaching the big 2-1 but that's no reason to stop watching Pixar and Disney films! Inside Out is for everyone of any age and so, so cleverly made. The film explores the life of Riley, an 11 year old hockey enthusiast. We see how she is controlled by her emotions, who are living characters in her head - Joy, Fear, Anger, Disgust and Sadness. The film explains mental health in a way understandable to the younger generation, and teaches you that without being open about your sadness, you can't have joy - that joy and sadness go hand in hand. A totally inspiring film, so innovative and is a must watch, especially for young pre-teens to teenagers growing up.

Brooklyn

Brooklyn tells the tale of a young girl, Eilis who decides to emigrate to New York as opportunities back home in Ireland are scarce. We follow her through her difficulties coping with homesickness and feeling torn between two places at once. I can completely relate to parts of Eilis's story, as after emigrating to France 5-6 years ago, I felt confused between my old life in the UK but attached to my new life in France, it's an odd feeling, and the homesickness is also relatable as I'm now studying in a different country from my home. It's a beautiful love story and actress Saoirse Ronan plays the role of Eilis fantastically. It's set between a beautiful 50's Brooklyn backdrop and the countryside of Ireland with stunning 50's fashion to boot.

Hail, Caesar!

I've seen both Barton Fink, which I loved, and The Big Lebowski, which I didn't quite 'get', by The Coen Brothers so was intrigued by the trailer of this star studded Hollywood movie and knew I had to see it! Set in the 1950's, it tells the story of Eddie Mannix, a Hollywood fixer who is busy at work solving the problems of all the big egos of filmmakers and actors at Capitol Pictures. The popular actor, Baird Whitlock (George Clooney) is kidnapped and Mannix faces his biggest challenge yet of getting him back to the studios without too much speculation from the press and delay in the making of "Hail, Caesar!". It's entertaining and funny, showing you the behind-the-scenes of Hollywood studios and just how complicated it can get. Expect cameos from Scarlett Johansson, Channing Tatum, Ralph Fiennes and Tilda Swinton!

A Bigger Splash

Set in a glamorous villa on the Italian island of Pantelleria - we are introduced to characters, Marianne, a former rock star, who is now mute due to throat surgery and her recovering alcoholic boyfriend, Paul. They're soon joined by Marianne's former lover, Harry and his recently discovered 'daughter', Penelope. All four are almost happy families to begin with but as the holiday progresses, the personalities clash and things take a much darker turn than expected. Everyone and everything becomes all a little mysterious, secretive and complicated...and we see that everyone is actually all a little effed up in the head. It's entertaining to watch, in particular, Harry's character, played by Ralph Fiennes, who is the most flamboyant and eccentric of the four. If you liked Vicky Christina Barcelona, then you'll probably like this too!

The Revenant

Ok, so it may be a liiiittle obvious to include this film, everyone knows about it and it's scooped up several awards including the highly anticipated Best Actor Oscar Award for Mr. Dicaprio. However, if you haven't seen it yet, and are unsure it'll be your kind of thang, I would highly recommend it, while it might still be in cinemas. Iñárritu's incredible cinematography is made to be seen on a big screen. The Revenant, set in the wilderness in 1823, is about Hugh Glass who faces a brutal bear attack and is left for dead by his fellow hunters. Glass uses his survival skills and desire for revenge to track down John (Tom Hardy) who has betrayed and abandoned him. It is so beautifully shot that you will no doubt enjoy it for the visuals alone - it has you on the edge of your seat and sometimes covering your eyes (not just me surely?!).

The Film Club #1

The Film Club #1

I've decided to introduce something a little 'new' to the blog- The Film Club...and everyone's a member (#cheesy)! Being a film student I'm seeing lots of new films all the time and I recently became a member of the FACT (read more about FACT here), my local cinema, where I can get discounts of films, see one free film a month and more...as my maw said, it was a no brainer to join really, with cinema tickets being so expensive these days- memberships are the way forward for avid cinema-goers. Anyway I figured my blog would be a great place to share my love for film.

So, every so often, I'll share with you some films I've seen that I've really enjoyed and I think you should see too. Here's to the film club #1!

The Hateful Eight

Already a big fan of Tarantino's work, I was of course so excited to see he was bringing out his eighth film and jumped at the chance to see it. It was everything I expected from Tarantino and more - blood, violence, a perfectly chosen cast and great cinematography. In my opinion, it was quite a slow starter and was heavy on dialogue but the story picked up the pace towards the middle and kept you on the edge of your seat till the very end. Jennifer Jason Leigh was by far my favourite character who's Oscar nomination is so well deserved. It was funny, disturbing in places and bloody.

Room

Intense is the word I used to describe Room the most. I'd only seen the trailer prior to viewing and didn't quite know what to expect from it but it completely blew me away. Room had my heart racing in moments, which I think is the first time a film has ever done so, it had me nearly crying at times and laughing at others. It was a beautiful representation of the novel by Emma Donoghue which leaves you feeling more grateful for the world and people around you. Jacob Tremblay, only aged 9, is one of the best child actors I've ever seen. Prepare for an emotional rollercoaster!

The Danish Girl

The Danish Girl ticked all the boxes- acting, cinematography, story, dialogue, costume, set- everything was spot on. As many know it is the true story about Lili Elbe, the transgender women previously known as Einar Wegener and her journey of becoming a woman and the struggles she faced. It is both a beautiful and tragic story which showed the difficulties Lili faced in admitting the truth to her wife and those around her about her change of identity.

Lobster

The film title itself is weird, right? Then I watched the trailer which re-affirmed how weird I thought it sounded, but I was curious to know more. The film was in fact, as bizarre as the title and trailer suggested but so much more enjoyable than I had expected. Yorgos Lanthimos's English language debut Lobster told the story of David, a widowed man, who lives in a dystopian future where single people are taken to "The Hotel" where they must find a romantic partner in 45 days or must choose an animal in which they will be transformed into and sent off into the woods. We follow the journey of David's 45 days in "The Hotel" and the people he meets and it is wickedly funny and sarcastic. Lanthimos pokes fun at the stigma around being single and in a couple and leaves you seeing things in a completely different light. The whole audience were in hysterics, a must see.

A Berlin Travel Guide: Where To Eat

A Berlin Travel Guide: Where To Eat

Zuckerbaby Café and Deli - Richardplatz 12

One of the many pleasures when travelling - trying out all the different cuisine, obviously! We kept dining out to a minimum because money and because we're students with student budgets yada yada yada. Though on the occasion we did, we found some right little gems! i.e. Zuckerbaby! On a snowy morning (yes, it was that cold), this place drew us in with it's candle lit windows - it just screamed, "I'm warm, cozy and serve lots of nice food and hot drinks" to us, so going here was too hard to resist. We settled on the French toast served with syrup, fruit and almonds along with a cup of tea and coffee - delicious! I of course eyed up the rest of the menu and wish I could have bought one of everything. Gorgeous interiors, even more gorgeous food and the perfect place to while away a couple of hours.

Dunkin' Donuts - in a metro station somewhere in Berlin

 I just had to include this, I don't know if they have Dunkin' Donuts anywhere else (obviously I'm not cultured enough...) but damn the donuts were so good I just had to mention them. And they were cheap too.

Schiller Burger - Neukölln (but also other chains all over Berlin)

Delicious burgers of all kinds with delicious chunky chips and cool drinks to choose from. Need I say more?

Unfortunately, these are the only photos of food I managed to get, however, I do also recommend:

- Lagari

- and Cafe Dritter Raum: aka the croissanterie, for the best triple choc (white, dark and milk) pain au chocolates you've ever tasted.

- oh, and pretzels. Eat as many pretzels as you can.