How do you pick just five?

I want to first apologise for my absence, but I am back now! Part of my dissapearing act was due to YesHub, a blog which I co-own with Mel Hart.  Be sure to check it out and let me know what you think!

Now that this has been cleared up and you have all graciously accepted my apology I will get back to the topic of today. What is it about you ask? Well movies of course ( I do realise this has been my recent obsession)

After many weeks I think I have finally come up with my top 5 movies of all time, it was hard I shall not lie and some movies almost made it in but alas 5 had to be chosen so here they are!

The Godfather

I am sure you all guessed this one was going to be there, what with my love for Al Pacino. The hardest choice I had to make was not having all his movies flood this top 5. So I hummed and hawed and decided The Godfather was worthy of this selection. Unfortunately there are many peeps out there who have not yet watched this movie and I will not lie, this IS a crime … a movie crime to say the least. So whatever you are doing, PUT IT DOWN and WATCH The Godfather (once you have read my blog of course)

I was fortunate to read Mario Puzo’s book before the movie and for once I was not disappointed. Whenever we read a book and follow this up with a movie, 99% of the time this never pans out the way we hope. This time however was different, the book as well as the movie surpassed my expectations. The amazing cast on this movie ensured it would be nothing short of perfection.

Almost Famous

Anyone that knows me well knows this movie would be part of the five. I watched Almost Famous when it was released, and I am not ashamed to say that in one summer I viewed it over 20 times, how could I not? For those who have not yet watched it, you are probably asking yourself why? It’s simple. the time the movie is set in, the soundtrack and the outstanding cast make this a must for anyone.

I personally consider myself a hippie born in the wrong era. In saying that, no one will be bored with this movie. As a “lost hippie” I watched Penny Lane follow Stillwater around the US on what looks like the best road trip ever. I laughed, cried, sang along with the cast and immersed myself so far into their story that it almost became reality. I know this makes me sound like a nut job, but you have all been there! Some movies no longer feel like movies and this is one of them.

Gangs of New York

Besides being a fan of Al Pacino, I am also in love with Martin Scorsese, a Director who only received his first Oscar in 2007, for The Departed (rightly so) The reason I am shocked is that Martin Scorsese has been around for some time and robbed over the years … also like Al Pacino who only one an Oscar for Scent of Woman.

The first time I watched Gangs of New York I was speechless, Daniel Day Lewis and Leo DiCaprio captivated the audience with their performances. Daniel Day Lewis was also nominated for this Oscar and sadly did not win. You may be wondering why I am so passionate about this movie and annoyed that this group of talent were sidelined, however I assure you that if you see this movie or their other work you would agree.

Gangs of New York is part of my top 5 for so many reasons. Many movies are way too violent nowadays without any point, this movie is violent, classy and romantic all at the same time. It is definitely a must see for anyone that can stand a bit of blood.

The Notebook

Many of you will probably roll your eyes at this one and assume I’m a sucker for romance. Actually, I am normally the opposite .. mushy stuff is usually not for me but this movie is different. Unlike the Godfather, Nicholas Spark’s novel was just too awful for my liking and I actually could not get through it all.

The Notebook made it into my 5 favourite movies for many reasons. Rachel McAdams and Ryan Gosling are both amazing actors in movies they star in, together they were explosive. This is due to their chemistry in this movie, I have never seen better chemistry in all the movies that I have watched (and there has been a lot)

Make sure you get a blanket, popcorn and a box of tissues for this movie however, even the toughest guys out there can shed a tear so you have been warned!

Lilo and Stitch

Last but certainly not least is Lilo and Stitch. As a child I grew up to Disney movies and unlike anything else you NEVER grow out of Disney. I’m actually headed to Disney World for my birthday in August and can’t wait. With Disney movies, there is something for everyone, it could be the classics or even Pixar movies.

The task of picking one Disney film to make my top 5 was hard but not impossible. The reason for Lilo and Stitch is pretty simple, I identify with both Lilo and Stitch ( I may also have a slight obsession with Stitch) I am so like Lilo in a lot of ways it’s crazy, when watching this movie I laugh at the similarities.

I was also drawn to the Elvis soundtrack, this is partly due to my Dad loving the King since I can remember.

So there you have it, my top 5 movies of all time. For all you out there who have seen these movies, let me know what you think and for those that haven’t yet get on that and soon!

Faith has been restored in the Oscars!!

Unfortunately I was not able to watch the Oscars live, this has never stopped me from watching them however. So Monday night rolled around and me and my warm cup of coffee were all set, then something out of the norm happened … I actually enjoyed watching the Oscars again. Hurrah!! Faith restored.

This year I was on a mission to watch as many Oscar nominees as I could in the Cinema and I was impressed with the quantity and quality of such movies. It is no mystery to those that know me that I am a devoted Al Pacino Fan, unfortunately I cannot say the same of the Academy. Al Pacino was robbed of so many Oscars and was finally awarded one for Scent of A Woman, way too late if you ask me but that is another blog post waiting to be written.

I think it is safe to assume that Lincoln was the viewers choice had they had a vote. I too thought Spielberg struck gold with this beautiful masterpiece but Alas the Academy had other plans in store for us.

I will start by saying I disagreed with two of the awards that night, these were for Best Actress and Best Supporting Actress. I personally thought Sally Field should have won as she was mesmerizing as Mrs Lincoln. Instead, the Oscar went to Anne Hathaway for her role in Les Miserables. I do not dispute that she is a great actress, especially in Rachel getting married. Anne Hathaway was actually nominated for an Oscar for that movie but had sadly lost. Therefore I was not too disappointed since she did deserve an Oscar, just for a different movie. Jennifer Lawrence won Best Actress in a leading role, seeing Silver Linings Playbook was enough of a disappointment, her winning the Oscar was the icing on this bitter, foul cake.

It is quite ironic when comparing those two awards to the Best Actor categories since these two awards were some of the highlights of the night. Christoph Waltz won Best Supporting Actor for Quentin’s Django, he was fantastic as Dr Schultz even if that movie did not deserve all the nominees it received. The movie was highly entertaining, I just felt it was not “Oscar Worthy” but Christoph’s portrayal of Dr. Schultz was nothing if not perfect. I found myself shedding a tear when he is killed, not something one usually does for sadistic bounty hunters, that in itself proves how talented Waltz is. Daniel Day Lewis also made history by winning his third Oscar for Best Actor, no other actor has ever held this title and I don’t expect anyone else to either in the near future. Daniel Day Lewis is a force to be reckoned with, this man oozes talent and seems to get better with age. No one would have made Lincoln as interesting and captivating as he did and Spielberg knew this before they even started filming. This oscar was absolutely the right choice!

Life of Pi was one of the “prettiest’ movies I have seen in a very long time and it comes as no surprise that this movie won Best Director and Best Cinematography. Seeing this movie has now made me want to watch more of Ang Lee’s movies, starting with Brokeback Mountain. 

The best was indeed left till last in this year’s ceremonies. Ben Aflek won Best Movie for the epic movie Argo. That movie has it all, an amazing story, a brilliant director and a magical cast. Everything was in sync with one another and this movie will definitely go down in history as one of the greats. All three of Ben’s movies have been memorable and we all know he has many more up his sleeve to share with us.

All in all, the night was a success especially with the help of Seth McFarlane, a Comedic God. I was so proud to see him up there and see him recognized for the talented man he is. Hope everyone enjoyed the oscars as much as I did, but if you didn’t I would love to hear why!

 

New Year… New Goals!

Well the New Year is definitely upon us all! I always find myself setting new goals to be accomplished in that new year that never get done. So although I say this every year, this year it IS going to be different and I want to accomplish four or five of these goals listed by the end of the year! What challenges have I set up you ask? Well here they are:

1. Write two or three blog posts a week;
2. Learn French or Spanish;
3. Apply for a Masters Degree in American English Literature (doing this from home in my spare time);
4. Take more photos and possibly go for camera lessons (to finally understand all the features my Cannon actually has!!!);
5. Learn to use photoshop;
6. Save a substantial amount of money;
7. Learn to meditate;
8. Read three books a month;
9. Join the gym &
10. Learn to scuba dive.

I decided to be realistic about the goals I set myself this year and instead of having a never ending list, to narrow my choices down to 10 in order to achieve this task I set out for myself.

I have to say that I am rather excited to get started on this list … have you made yours yet?

 

I have never been a fan of Woody Allen movies … until now!

I am finally a fan of Woody Allen and all it took was for me to watch a 1977 movie instead of his recent stuff instead, go figure!

Going back to the Empire top 500 movies of all time, I decided to watch Annie Hall and it was one of the best movie selections I have ever made. I was recently in Malta for a four-day holiday and was browsing the web for some in flight entertainment for my trip back to Dublin. After some time deliberating with my boyfriend Conor, we decided to watch Annie Hall.

Whilst watching this movie all I could think about was how electrifying the chemistry between Woody Allen and Diane Keaton was. This was quite a shock for me since I normally dislike anything Diane Keaton stars in, in my opinion she was the only thing wrong with the Godfather franchise!

The second impressive noticeable feature with this film was the dialogue. This movie kept me glued to the screen from the moment it started and I feel this was mostly due to the writing, this film has to be one of the best written movies I have ever seen. Woody Allen and Marshall Brickman truly struck Gold when they decided to write this movie together!  One of my favourite quotes from the movie is when Alvy defines life as “divided into the horrible and the miserable” He further explains this by saying:

“That’s the two categories. The horrible are like, I don’t know, terminal cases, you know, and blind people, crippled. I don’t know how they get through life. It’s amazing to me. And the miserable is everyone else. So you should be thankful that you’re miserable, because that’s very lucky, to be miserable.”

I found myself falling for Alvy Singer, ever though all he did was complain about life and obsess about death or anything relating to death. Annie Hall on the other end transforms into a strong confident individual, and although she was more of the sweet optimist, her success was mainly due to Alvy. All through the movie I was rooting for this couple to succeed, to drive away into the sunset and live happily ever after, unfortunately this relationship was not destined to thrive, but was doomed from the start.

I was on the fence about whether this ending was the right choice but the more time I thought about it the more I realised it had to end this way. They were two different for one another and wanted different things, besides being more realistic I feel the ending was in itself more romantic too as you knew they would always love one another and be there when it matters.

If you haven’t yet watched this movie I definitely recommend that you do so. I myself may even try to give Woody Allen’s other movies another shot, so yes it impressed me that much!!

It only seems fair to end this blog post with a Woody Allen joke from this same movie! Until next time everyone:

“A guy walks into a psychiatrist’s office and says, hey doc, my brother’s crazy! He thinks he’s a chicken. Then the doc says, why don’t you turn him in? Then the guy says, I would but I need the eggs. I guess that’s how I feel about relationships. They’re totally crazy, irrational, and absurd, but we keep going through it because we need the eggs.”

Bloggy…. I have missed you!!

The last few months have been crazy to say the least, thankfully all seems to be settling down and I am starting to see the light at the end of the tunnel.

This means I can get back to doing the things I love to do such as blogging to you nice peeps! Once the move is complete, which should be sometime next week the blogging will start up again with a few new additions.

I realise that most of my recent blog posts have been movie related since I’m still going through the Empire top 500 list! Do not fret, this shall still continue as planned however I decided to start a new food related adventure also. Every week I have decided to select two new recipes, be they from Pinterest, books or other online sites. I will try to cook these said new recipes whilst blogging about each attempt too!

So all you food buffs stay tuned… It may not always be a pretty or yummy read but I am sure there will be something to entertain you all!

Happy Blogging!