The Last Five Years: Movie Review

The Last Five Years: Movie Review

Monday, 18 May 2015

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I was going to wait to talk about The Last Five Years until my May Favourites - where it will definitely be making an appearance! - but it's so amazing that I just couldn't wait. A musical obsessed friend of mine was pestering me to watch this for the longest time but I just never got round to it and then I saw the dvd in Asda on my lunch break and it was pretty much a no brainer. Anna Kendrick in a musical? Obviously I was going to love it!

Starring Queen of Everything/Every Woman's Girl Crush Anna Kendrick (all the hearteyed emojis! Seriously ALL of them!) as struggling actress Cathy Hiatt and Broadway Baby/Smash Alumn Jeremy Jordan (more hearteyed emojis) as aspiring writer Jamie Wellerstein, The Last Five Years follows Cathy and Jamie's relationship from the dizzying early days to their struggle as it ends. Cathy's songs begin at the end of their relationship and work backwards with Jamie's songs starting from the beginning of their story. The format of the musical is quite strange because it's constantly jumping from the beginning of their relationship to the end until they meet in the middle but I think this is part of the reason it's so good because it gives you both points of view. Another strange but good thing is that despite the fact that Cathy and Jamie are nearly always together they only sing together once, but it's so lovely when they do. I was in absolute bits by the end of the film, I cry at everything, but I think this film would melt the heart of even the stoniest of musical haters,  I just couldn't understand why they weren't together! I knew why but it just didn't make any sense to me! What can I say? I'm a hopeless romantic 'till the end (read more about that here, here & here)

As you can probably tell I absolutely loved this film. I was annoyed with myself for not watching it sooner, that's how good it is! Seriously! I don't have a bad word to say about it. The story is wonderful and happy and sad all at the same time. Jeremy Jordan is incredible, Anna Kendrick is even more so and the two of them have such amazing chemistry! Everything about it is awesome! It is shot so beautifully with some amazing shots of New York - all the heart eyed emojis! Side note: has the world ran out of hearteyed emojis yet? Because I keep using them all! - Anna Kendrick rocks some seriously amazing vintage clothes and the soundtrack is BEAUTIFUL! I'm obsessed with it, I downloaded it the second the film ended and have been listening to it constantly ever since and `yes before you ask I am listening to it right now. Overall it's a really amazing and sadly underrated film I love it!

If you haven't seen it then check out the trailer below.

Have you seen The Last Five Years? What did you think? Did you love it? Did you not? Let me know on twitter, by commenting below or even dropping me an email at lolarocknroses@gmail.com. Also check out my instagram. facebook, bloglovin, pinterest & snapchat - my username is lolarocknroses - for daily updates.

Sorry this was late, it was supposed to go up yesterday but I've got a lot of stuff going on at the moment - 2 assignments, a presentation for my dissertation, my brother's wedding, actual work... the list is endless - so I will be blogging as much as I can but some days will be missed because sometimes it's just unavoidable.

I'll be back on Tuesday if uni work permits.

Until then

Love love love xxx

*Disclaimer* I own none of the media - images/videos - used in this post, media used for entertainment purposes only. Images Via, Via

Maleficent: A Movie Review

Maleficent: A Movie Review

Saturday, 23 August 2014

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Happy Saturday! I hope everyone has something utterly fabulous planned for the long weekend. I am writing to you from sunny Lowestoft where I am helping out in my Aunty's coffee shop for the day. I say helping, my mum's helping I'm eating cake and blogging. 

In place of last night's Friday I'm in Love, it being a little ridiculous to post something about Friday on a Saturday (not that that's ever stopped me before!), I thought I would review Maleficent for you lovely lot. Yes I finally saw it.  Warning this post definitely contains spoilers. 

(Picture via www.disneypictures.net)

I have been dying to see Maleficent for quite some time, a year at least. When I was little Sleeping Beauty was my absolute favourite disney film and Maleficent was the reason why. I both love and fear Maleficent, she's my favourite Disney villain ever. She's kind of a bad ass, she's also a psycho but Disney traditionally portrays strong women as such and there is no denying that Maleficent is definitely a strong woman (with some mad eyeliner skills... just saying!) She was absolutely terrifying! To this day I maintain that she is the scariest Disney villain of all time. I think it's because she doesn't sing.  Just a theory. Anyway...

(Sorry for the terrible quality, I screenshot this from my dvd! This part used to terrify me when I was little. Even now I get a prickle of fear and I am too old to find this scary!) 

Because of this I had really high expectations of Maleficent and honestly I wasn't sure what to make of it, I am so conflicted! Feelings are mixed it's all very confusing. As a prequel it falls short and doesn't do justice to the original story. As a standalone film, however, I loved it. See I told you, I'm conflicted. 

I love re-imaginings of classic stories where you get to see things from a different perspective. It's part of the reason why I love Wicked so much (that and it's incredible). However I really don't like it when the new story seems to deliberately contradict the original. That really winds me up. And Maleficent, I'm afraid, is definitely guilty of this crime. I'll give you an example, the name Maleficent literally means the doing of evil. So the fact that she is a nice character, at the beginning of the film at least, actually annoys me. But I'm pretty sure that would only bother former nerdy English Students like myself. I haven't found anyone else who is bothered by that, so it must be just me. There were other things too but I won't spoil it. 

Maleficent tells the story of Sleeping Beauty from the point of view of Maleficent and how and why she came to be evil and all that jazz. I do love a good origin story. We first meet Maleficent as the child Fairy Queen of the Moors (which is one hell of a title). She is happy and kind and has wings. BUT then she meets the boy who will grow up to be King Stefan and they become childhood sweethearts. However Stefan is an orphan who dreams of becoming King and living in the Castle and it is this ambition that poisons their relationship. I won't go into too much detail because I think people should see it for themselves and form their own opinions. 

I must say that the casting of Angelina Jolie was genius. And as someone who has and always will be Team Aniston you can imagine what a bitter pill that is to swallow. Whilst I don't think I will ever love and appreciate Angelina Jolie in quite the same way as Jennifer Aniston her performance in this film has gone a long way to build bridges. Angelina, I forgive you... All Ancient Brad Pitt drama aside I think she absolutely embodied the role of Maleficent. She was terrifying but also vulnerable and was actually quite funny in places. 

The resemblance is quite amazing considering one is a cartoon! Look at that crazy good eyeliner! Picture via www.kdramastars.com

Overall I did like it, not as much as I was expecting but like I said I have very mixed feelings, I think to truly enjoy it I would need to treat Sleeping Beauty and Maleficent as separate entities.  Having said that it is definitely worth a watch, especially to all you Disney fans out there. 

Have you seen Maleficent? What did you think? Did you love it? Hate it? Or are you as conflicted as I am? Let me know either by twitter or commenting below. If you do comment I do always reply so check back. For those of you who haven't seen it check out the trailer below. 

So that is it for today but I do have some posts planned over the next couple of days so keep your eye out. Until then please check me out on facebook, BlogLovin, instagram & pinterest. Hope everyone has an amazing bank holiday weekend.

Love love love xxx

Guardians of the Galaxy: A Movie Review

Guardians of the Galaxy: A Movie Review

Wednesday, 13 August 2014

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Picture via cartooncornerproductions.com

I am obsessed with comic book movies, there is no point in denying it. I have an Iron Man  phone case and my personal collection of comic book movies is pretty awesome, which I think tells you everything you need to know.

These were just the ones I could find.... Nerd Alert!

 So I think it's fairly safe to say that I love them, with that in mind you can imagine how excited I've been for Guardians of the Galaxy. Honestly...I've been counting down the days. And last week I saw it... twice. And I can safely say that IT WAS AWESOME!

First of all the casting is stellar, it has some kickass female leads (I'm looking at you Karen Gillan & Zoe Saldana) which is always awesome! 

Pictures via www.ramascreen.com and wegeekgirls.com

But honestly the true stars were Chris Pratt as Peter Quill/Star Lord and Bradley Cooper as Rocket Racoon

Picture via dadinacape.com

Being both a fan of Parks & Rec and The Lego Movie I was already a huge fan of Chris Pratt BEFORE he was Star Lord. He is so amazing as Andy Dwyer in Parks & Rec for many reasons. This is one of them. 

This is another 

He's so hilarious and adorable.  So yeah I already loved Chris Pratt quite a lot but after seeing him in Guardians he has cemented his place in my heart (woah that sounds creepy) I love him, charming and chubby or ripped and still quite charming. I just love him. It's weird but I feel something like a proud mother... my man crush is all grown up and saving the galaxy (again super creepy!) Anyway my point is - besides my crazy love for Chris Pratt - that he is perfect as Star Lord. He's really funny, but also sweet and totally kick ass. Amazing. 

Picture via screenrant.com

Rocket was my absolute favourite character in Guardians, including Star Lord. He was hilarious, had a really cool voice (voiced by Bradley Cooper, insert heart eyed emoji) and he was a total genius. Rocket is awesome. 

Not only is the casting good but the soundtrack is incredible. One of the songs, Hooked On A Feeling by Blue Swede, is now my ring tone because it is such a great song. The soundtrack is full of loads of recognisable, feel good, happy songs which is super awesome. 

Honestly I cannot stress just how good this movie is. The soundtrack is amazing, the cast are equally so and it manages to be hilarious, action packed and heart warming all at the same time. 

So that was what I thought of Guardians of the Galaxy. Have you seen it yet? What did you think? Did you love it? Let me know either by twitter or comment below. If you do comment I try to always reply so do check back :) Also check me out on facebook, BlogLovin, instagram & pinterest. 

Love love love xxx

P.S. Sorry this is late guys, this was actually meant to be posted last night but has taken the place of this weeks 2 Stars and A Wish instead. I have had a hideous migraine over the past few days that has put me out of action since Monday night. I'm still feeling really ill but I'm better than I was. Business as usual next week I promise xx 

The Fault In Our Stars: A Movie Review

The Fault In Our Stars: A Movie Review

Wednesday, 9 July 2014

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(Picture courtesy of thefaultinourstarsmovie.com...how adorable is Gus/Ansel Elgort's face?! Seriously!)

Before we get started this review contains spoilers! You have been warned! I saw The Fault in Our Stars on Thursday and I thought I had to review it for you guys. Since I first read this book (I've read it 5 times and am now on my 6th) I, and the rest of the world, have been obsessed with The Fault in Our Stars. Because I loved it so much I was a teeny bit skeptical when I heard this was being made into a movie. How on earth could a movie capture the magic of this book? - It totally managed it by the way- That's the problem with film adaptations they can't please everybody. Particularly when it's an adaptation of such a beloved book. Some fans were bound to be disappointed with the movie but I am happy to report that I was not one of them. 

To say that I loved this movie is a HUGE understatement. It. Is. Amazing! It stays true to the story without being cheesy. It has a kickass soundtrack (more about that later) and it manages to achieve the perfect balance between hilariously funny and heartbreakingly sad. I will definitely be buying the dvd, in fact I can't wait for it to come out. I was really worried about the casting of Shailene Woodley and Ansel Elgort (because I have too much time on my hands) but they were absolutely perfect. When I initially saw that Ansel Elgort had been cast I was a bit dubious for 3 reasons. 1. I hadn't really heard of him before so I didn't know if he was capable of stepping into the impressive shoes of Augustus Waters. 2. Nat Woolfe, who was in contention for the role of Gus before taking on the role of Isaac (above middle), was closer to how I imagined Gus and 3. He had played opposite Shailene Woodley in Divergent AS HER BROTHER and because of this I didn't think they would have the right chemistry. How very wrong I was on all counts. Ansel Elgort was GLORIOUS as the beautifully tragic Augustus Waters. As for Shailene Woodley, despite being very confused about what feminism actually is, she was pretty amazing and exactly the way I'd pictured Hazel. As for the chemistry between the two of them... 

(Picture courtesy of thefaultinourstars.wikia.com)

I think this picture says it all! I mean seriously? Who looked at these two and thought hmm they'd be good as brother and sister? They're even adorable together in real life. I'm totally shipping Ansel and Shailene/Gus and Hazel, yeah we're on a first name basis, but they aren't the only amazing cast members Nat Woolfe was brilliant as the tortured and blind Isaac, particularly in the trophy smashing scene which was both very funny and incredibly poignant. Of course Willem Defoe was excellent (obviously) as the embittered, alcoholic and borderline insane Peter Van Houten. The lady from Jurassic Park (Laura Dern) and Sam (Sam Trammell) from True Blood were also really good as Hazel's parents. All in all the casting was top notch, yeah I just said top notch non-ironically, not ashamed. 

(Picture courtesy of thefaultinourstarsmovie.com) 

Not only was the casting excellent and the film very well acted but the soundtrack is marvellous. It's no secret that I am something of a music lover and a major film fan. But what I love the most are films with amazing soundtrack. TFIOS definitely meets this criteria. I downloaded the soundtrack pretty much immediately after I saw the film and then completely forgot about it. Then the other morning on my way to work I came across No One Ever Loved by Lykke Li and was hooked. Since then I have listened to the album repeatedly and it is awesome. My favourite songs are Simple As This by Jake Bugg, No One Ever Loved by Lykke Li and Wait by M83.  Having said that there isn't one song on the soundtrack  that I don't like. 

This film was superbly executed, look at me I've gone all posh now! I can definitely see it becoming a firm favourite. I loved it, I thought it was fantastic and I can't wait to see it again! And spend the last hour weeping until my top is soaking wet and my make up has been wept into oblivion. 

Have you seen TFIOS yet? What did you think? Did you love it? I did! Let me know I'd love to hear your thoughts. 

Right I'm off to sleep now because I have work in the morning (BOO!) but will be back tomorrow with this week's 2 Stars & A Wish - it's the 6th one I'm so proud! - Until then I am on every possible social media site, and some impossible ones too (facebook anyone?). Check me out on twitter, facebook, BlogLovin, instagram & pinterest for your daily fix of Me...I know no one really needs one of those but it's nice to have the option. Anywho nighty night!

Love love love xx

How to Train Your Dragon 2: A Review

How to Train Your Dragon 2: A Review

Sunday, 29 June 2014

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(Picture courtesy of www.impawards.com)

 2 posts in one day?! I hear you cry out in barely contained glee (well not really), don't say I don't spoil you. Now I must confess something... I love kids films. Love them. Now when it comes to kids films it's a truth universally acknowledged that Disney pretty much rules the roost. Disney is the mack daddy of children's entertainment and for good reason (Frozen anyone? Toy Story 1,2 & 3 anyone?) But every now and then a non-Disney (usually DreamWorks) film comes along that is that good it achieves icon status. How to Train Your Dragon is one such film. And I'm pretty sure that How to Train Your Dragon 2 will be one as well. As those of you who read Friday I'm in Love #5 will know that I was planning to go see Maleficent today with my cousin/bestie. Unfortunately the only showing of Maleficent was at 11:00 am and by the time I'd dragged my sorry arse out of bed, showered and dressed we'd missed it. So we went to see How To Train Your Dragon 2 instead.

(Picture courtesy of wikipedia.org)

When the first How to Train Your Dragon came out I was working at Cineworld and it was inescapable. I could recite the entire trailer word for word I had seen it that many times. But it was brilliant and it's brilliance meant that I didn't want to escape it, unlike some other films I could mention. Let's just say that working a Twilight opening weekend brutally murdered any enjoyment I took from that series. Anyway How to Train Your Dragon was different. It was excellent and I loved it. 

So when I heard that there was to be a sequel I was both excited and dubious. Excited because there was going to be a second How to Train Your Dragon and as I've mentioned I loved the first one. And dubious because how could it possibly live up to the amazingness that was the first film. Well let me tell you it has more than lived up to it's already stellar reputation. 

Set five years after the first film HTTYD2 tells the story of the former misfit Hiccup -who is hot now btw- who is now known as 'the pride of Berk' and set to follow in his father's footsteps and become the Chief of the tribe. I won't give away too much as it is well worth a watch but trust me when I say it is so good. It made me laugh, it made me cry, hysterically through the last 40 minutes and it had so many twists and turns. I loved it just as much as the first one. Which is saying something. 

(Picture courtesy of www.impawards.com)

It's probably just me but how hot is older Hiccup? It's definitely just me. Well I've made myself look like a total freak! Oh well he is hot! Not ashamed. Look at that jawline... H-O-T! Someone find me a human version of that. Okay I'm going to stop perving over an animation now, because that is just too weird, even for me.  Moving on...

There is a third film, set for release in 2016, which will apparently explain the reasons why Dragons no longer exist, so I'm imagining there will be a lot of tears on my end. Mostly because Toothless is the cutest thing ever. Look at that face.

(Picture courtesy of pinterest.com)

Anyway guys I'm off to bed now because I have a killer headache kicking in and work in the morning. I hope you've enjoyed my second sneaky post of the day. Have you seen How to Train Your Dragon 2? What did you think? Did you love it as much as I did? Let me know on here or twitter. I really will be back tomorrow this time with Hopeless Romantic: My Favourite Couples from Books. So until then check me out on twitter, facebook, BlogLovin, instagram & pinterest, you know if you want too. 

Night night xxx

Not Another Happy Ending: A Review

Not Another Happy Ending: A Review

Friday, 21 February 2014

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Today I thought I would review the film Not Another Happy Ending starring the beautiful Karen Gillan and the equally beautiful Stanley Weber.

 

Not Another Happy Ending tells the story of writer Jane Lockhart; who following the immense success of her first novel is suffering from writer's block whilst writing her second. Jane's obnoxious yet exquisitely gorgeous publisher Tom believes this is due to her happiness so makes it his mission to make her life a misery. In doing so Tom (who's French by the way, ooh la la) starts to realise that he is love with her. The problem is Jane finishing the novel means that there won't be a reason for Tom to see her anymore (that and Jane's dick boyfriend, the aptly named Willy).

Not only was this film both funny and clever with some incredibly romantic moments, it also featured some amazing vintage fashion rocked by the fabulous Miss Gillan and an excellent soundtrack (particularly the song Crash Land by Twin Atlantic)

I won't give away the ending because I think everyone should watch it but it is amazing. I've watched it repeatedly and it is now one of my favourite films. If ever a film was underrated this one is. Karen Gillan is amazing as the tortured and incredibly talented Jane and Stanley Weber is wonderful and gorgeous as the slightly mean-spirited but unbelievably sexy Tom. I love RomComs but they're something of a guilty pleasure because they can be so cheesy but Not Another Happy Ending isn't at all, it was brilliant. If you haven't seen it you can watch the trailer below but trust me y0u're gonna wanna watch it. 

Until next time lovely people check me out on twitter, facebook, BlogLovin, instagram & Pinterest :) 

Love love love xxx