Film Review: 'Pitch Perfect 2'

When, just over a week ago, a friend of mine suggested that we book tickets to go and see this film on the day it was released (also the same day as our Advanced Higher English exam) as a post-exam treat, I jumped at the offer! I had loved the first one, although I didn't actually see it in the cinema, but on DVD later.

Pitch Perfect 2 did not disappoint, and I was particularly pleased to see that almost all of the original cast members returned for the sequel, including Anna Kendrick (Becca) and Skylar Astin (Becca's boyfriend Jesse) as well as many of the 'Bellas' including Brittany Snow (Chloe, and, as I only just realised, Snow plays Amber in 'Hairspray'!) and, most notably, Rebel Wilson (Fat Amy).

The storyline was similar to the first film, in the sense that it followed the high-school A capella group as they had an early disastrous performance, lost their true 'sound' and had to find themselves in order to recreate the group, to then go on be deservedly victorious in a major competition. You may think that to use the same plot skeleton would be boring, but this WAS NOT the case. The trick actually allowed the film to stay true to what was loved about the first film, but had a few spin-off storylines to keep the audience interested. For example, Becca's new internship which keeps her kind of busy, a fierce German group whose all about the competition, the prospect of graduating and having to find what they want to do with their lives after Barton University and, of particular interest, the admission of a new Bella, Emily, who is also referred to as 'Legacy' because her Mother was a Barton Bella too.

The character of freshman  Emily is played by the stunning actress Hailee Steinfeld, who I recognised but don't believe I have seen her anything before. It is incredible to see that she already has a fantastic career at just 18 years old and her character, an overly enthusiastic but very talented singer-songwriter kept the film interesting... and provided a little bit of Romance for Benji (Ben Platt) who you have to love!

I would comment that there were a couple of moments when I felt that the humour of the film verged on racism, but I think I may have been reading a little too far into it, because it certainly wasn't pitched (no pun intended) in a vicious way or anything. In fact, Ben Platt can be quoted as describing, in interview, the humour as "...at nobody's expense".

All in all, I definitely think that Pitch Perfect 2 is as much if not more so of a feel-good film as the first one, with a definite air of friendship, inclusion of every type of person and a sense of being on the brink of life and opportunities.

As I said the two friends I was seeing it with when it finished, I feel as though they ended it in a way whereby they could theoretically make a third one at some point, but with a different cast (probably with Emily at the centre of it as opposed to Becca) but they wouldn't need to in order to conclude it. Personally, although this is probably just e being my cynical self, I'd be a bit wary of making a third film. While number 2 wasn't a disappointment, its wasn't THE Pitch Perfect, and I don't think even the best team could capture the essence of the film for a third time.

I say, GO AND SEE IT! It's funny, loving and the perfect break from thinking about study and exams!!

Writers' Block

So, during the time I've been regularly blogging (which tomorrow will be exactly 1 and 1/3 years!) I have mentioned on a couple of occasions that one of my reasons for blogging less often, aside from being generally busy, has been lack of motivation or inspiration.

Thankfully, I've fallen in love with my blog again each time this has happened, but, throughout this school year, I've experienced a similar issue in terms of my creative writing folio.

I have always enjoyed writing fiction, but it is one thing to talk about enjoying it and another thing to keep it up. Sometimes, my style of writing comes across as childish or simplistic because it is, but other times it is because that is simply my style, and a lot more thought and craft has gone into it when you dig a little deeper.

As I'm getting the final pieces together for my Advanced Higher English folio, to be submitted at the end of this week, I worry that my writing this year has not exceeded or even met the standard of the writing I produced last year and the year before. I had an idea for a story which I feel I could have developed further but have struggled to do so, both due to lack of motivation to devote the time to doing it, and lack of inspiration on how to develop my writing.

I think it's what people call 'Writers' Block', but in its broadest sense. There is a difference between days when I just can't get the ideas to flow onto the paper and screen, and longer periods of time, such as several months, when I'm just not achieving my full capability.

Hopefully, the work I submit will adequately reflect my ability, although I know it will  not be my best work. As the prospect of finishing exams and school being completely over draws nearer, my love for writing returns and I hope to get cracking and write far more over this summer.

Does anyone else experience or have thoughts on writers' block? Is it all in our heads? Let me know in the comments!

Catriona xx

Book Review: 'All I Know Now' by Carrie Hope Fletcher

I've mentioned Carrie a few times on this blog, because she is a Youtuber who not only got me into watching Youtube, but also continues to inspire me to be me and to write. Along with the rest of her following, The 'Hopefuls', I've been looking forward to the publication of her first book since she announced it in May 2014. It is a non-fiction book which acts as an advice-bible, predominately for teenage girls but has something within it for everyone- no matter your gender or age.

I pre-ordered a Hardback copy for half price (£6.49 I think) from Waterstones. My dad wasn't able to pick it up on the day of publication and I was ridiculously disappointed haha. But he picked it up the next day. It's taken me a week to read, but only because I've HAD to break away to study for exams. Otherwise, a night or two would have done it!

The book is spit up into sections and set out like a play or show, with acts etc. (because Carrie is also a West End actress!). Each section covers a different area of life- love, friendship/relationships, self-confidence, stress, mental health and many more sub-topics are all given their own place in its pages.

What I loved about 'All I know Now' is that Carrie does not claim to be a professional councillor or doctor or to know all the answers, she's fully aware that what she writes is only her advice. But after going through the ups and downs of being a teen, she's found herself at a very content point in her life and chosen to share her advice for reaching that place with an audience who already view her as their 'Honorary Big Sister'.

The style of her writing is very informal and lade back. She writes almost as though she was making another of her popular vlogs. 'All I know Now' actually began as a blog and her tone and structure remind me quite a bit of my own blogging style: writing for myself but also for others.

It is clear that Carrie made the decision to be very honest in this book, as she shares a handful of her own experiences in an attempt to remind us all that we are not the only ones who suffer anxiety, embarrassment, heartbreak etc. However, in no way is she too open, there is nothing shocking or deep in there!

I think its fair to say that some parts of the book are a little bit cliché, or the kind of advice we hear time and time again, but not a lot of it. And those parts that are work perfectly well alongside Carrie's fresh ideas and takes on different situations. It's like, you may have heard similar advice before, but when it's all there in front of you, in one place and backed up with real stories and examples, it forces you to think differently.

What I especially admired about Carrie's approach was her metaphors! She comes up with some hilarious ones, and others which you almost struggle to follow. But each and every one of them is very accurate, and its a gift to be able to relate real feelings to something else and effectively describe it.

A lot of what Carrie had to say struck a very real chord with me, because I have, at times, struggled with channelling the best person I can be as being the person I am. I don't know if that made sense? But basically being a good person with positive relationships, self-confidence and the motivation to chase my dreams (cheesy I know!) is something that I do find difficult at times, as I'm sure is the case for most people. I know that life isn't easy, especially when your still trying to work out what kind of a person you want to be and I think that's why I'm allowing Carrie, who I admire a lot, to give me the advice. I think it's almost easier to accept it from someone you don't know and hopefully reading 'All I know Now' will be the light switch I needed to make necessary changes to continue on the happy path. One day I hope to thank Carrie for that help.

Ok, enough with the deep! Haha. 'All I Know Now' is a great read for any age- there were elements I thought both my sister and mum could take from it too. If you're just looking for a wee push to find your feet or even just fancy a wee giggle at what life throws at us then pick up your beautiful copy (wow I didn't even fangirl over how gorgeous a design of book it is, with illustrations from Carrie herself!) today!

Catriona xx

Film Review: 'Cinderella'

So I just wanted to start this post by thanking everyone for the amazing support  I received on my last post, 'I am a Feminist... (I think!)' It was amazing to watch the view count slowly creep up! I know it

was a bit more of a serious tone than my usual but your response has given me the confidence to start thinking up more posts where I give my opinions on issues...

However, for just now I thought I'd break off from exam revision to review a film I went to see with a friend on Friday night. I had wanted to go and see it for ages, but so far had been unable to justify the time out of revision. However, I needed to go into town anyway to shop so my friend and I scheduled a pizza hut and cinema catch-up!

I don't care that I'm 18 years old, I have a special place in my heart for Cinderella and this new rendition did not disappoint.

One of my main reasons for wanting to go was because, from the trailer, I knew that Lily James was playing Cinderella, and I loved her from seeing her in Downton Abbey.  She was a perfect Ella, beautiful and gentle and mesmerising. And I'm not going to lie, Richard Madden as the Prince may have been another motive! Not having seen Game of Thrones, I was unaware of Madden and had not come across him before, but he was perfect in the role and his attractiveness helped a lot! Similarly, Cate Blanchett was the ideal Stepmother... make no mistake, she remained as stunning as always, but her beauty was warped by her wonderfully cruel character. You feel genuinely heart-broken for poor Ella, and that indicates excellent acting both on Blanchett's part, and on James' part, for making you empathise with her. The Step-sisters too were adequately pretty, ditsy and plain air-heads!

The storyline was heart-warming and stuck very true to the original tail. But seeing it in 'real life' as opposed to motion picture was beautiful. Within the first 5-10 minutes I was literally crying (I won't give it away but the sadness at the beginning struck a very emotional chord with both myself and my friend!) and had the kind lady next to me give me a pat and say "U ok Pet?" haha. The plot made you value what you have and literally made me glow inside!

It wasn't a musical version, but there was one song which was sung on a couple of occasions, by Ella's mother and by Ella. I don't know if it was Lily James herself who sang or someone else, but the voices were gorgeous- you could hear a pin drop! The song went: "Lavender blue, dilly dilly, lavender green...." and this in itself contributed to my love for the film as this was a song my mum sang to me when I was little.

The costumes (one beautiful ball gown in particuly!) were absolutely stunning- the costume department did an incredible job!

I would say that, overall, 'Cinderella' is possibly the best Disney Princess re-make I've seen so far (I am now very excited to see Emma Watson star in 'Beauty and the Beast'). No matter your age, go and see it and remember, all you need is "to have courage, to be kind, and a little bit of magic..." <3

I am a Feminist... (I think)

So for a long time now, and particularly since Emma Watson (one of my idols and girl-crush haha) began to speak out with her HeforShe campaign and made a lasting impression with her UN speech, I have been thinking about the concept of feminism. I took History as a subject up until this year and looked at the famous women's rights movements of the past, such as the Suffragettes and Suffragists. I am currently a Modern Studies students and I often come across theories such as the Glass Ceiling Theory, which suggests that women can only progress so far in our current society and shocking statistics which also indicate this and other instances of gender discrimination in the current day and age. And I am soon to become an International Relations student and I know that gender equality has yet to become a given in many many places across the world.

A couple of days ago, one of these quiz things popped up on my Facebook called 'Are you a Feminist', and so I decided to take it. To my surprise, there was just one question, to which I answered 'yes of course', and my results were calculated as follows:

What I was asked was if I believe that all genders should share the same social, political and economic rights and, to me, that's not a question. If this is the true and original definition of feminism (which with some research I have determined that it is) then I am a feminist. Full stop.

However, although I am deeply saddened to know that there are a very small minority who would answer no to this, who honestly believe that one gender or another is superior, I know that the real debate over feminism is not a result of people disagreeing with equality, but disagreeing with the notion of feminism itself. Feminism appears to have acquired some negative connotations over time and it is this that plants doubt in the minds of people who would otherwise be proud to declare themselves feminists.

This morning, when I clicked onto Facebook, out of pure coincidence a chat had begun on a group I'm in about whether people were feminists, and their views on feminism. Instinctively, I wrote the following comment without dwelling too much over it, and it was this and the extremely interesting discussion which followed which prompted me to finally write this post, because I knew that my views on the subject were clearer than they'd previously been:

Emma Watson made it pretty clear in her speech that, while her HeforShe campaign is targeted at getting men especially on board, that is only because women are statistically proven to be more likely to be gender discriminated and not because we are under any delusion than men do not experience various types of gender discrimination too.

Many of the extremist 'feminist' cases in the media depict women "man-hating", refusing to listen to other points of view, or being deliberately rude or rebellious in order to gain publicity. It is sad that people need to do this, but as was pointed out to me, extreme action was required in the past by the likes of the Suffragettes in order to achieve many rights including that of the vote. So perhaps strong movements still have a place in today's society, but discrimination by one gender of the opposite gender because they feel it's a sort of "payback" for the discrimination they have received, is like trying to fix a wrong with a wrong. It is my belief that only a small number of 'feminists' use the term to associate with such actions, but that it is this small number who have given the entire movement a bad name.

Within the previously mentioned discussion, a number of interesting points were raised. One person held the belief that feminism comes hand in hand with being a woman. In light of the hardships faced by women across the world I understand where this person was coming from, however I believe gender equality to be just as much the business of men as it is of women. A forward-moving, healthy society can only, in my opinion, be achieved as a result of equality, and cooperation in achieving this equality, between sexes, and such a society would be beneficial to everyone. Furthermore, while it may not be as glaringly obvious, men are victims of gender discrimination too; ever thought about how having to maintain masculinity or have a manly occupation, dress sense, favourite drink, etc. might be a stereotype which verges on discrimination? This is just the example which comes to mind immediately.

Another point which was raised A LOT, was people saying that they agreed with gender equality, but would not refer to themselves as a feminist due to the negative connotations and fear of being misinterpreted. I can completely relate to this point. It's the reason for that hint of doubt in brackets which features in the title of this post. I mean, in the end, as long as we are all in agreement of what needs to happen and willing to do something about it, then what's the value of a name? We can call it anything we like so long as it's positive! And we may as well steer clear of a term the media and a few people have tarred with one brush and move into the modern-day with a new, innovative movement. I get it. People don't want to have to explain every time they identify as a feminist about how that doesn't mean they hate men, or care less about men's rights. Because, let's be realistic, that's what we have to do and there is absolutely no reason why we should be defending ourselves.

However (I'm almost done, promise! ;) ) part of me sees the flipside. If we change the name, who's to say that there won't be a minority of people masquerading under that term who don't respect its definition. Why should/would we abandon a term that's got so much history and has got us so far? Therefore, it really is my belief that rather than arguing over the name, we should all come together and tell the world what it truly is to be a feminist/equalist//liberal feminist/decent human being...

In short: I am a Feminist. And proud.



I would love to know your views on feminism in the comments- I honestly love polite, respectful debate so don't worry if you disagree with me! I know this post was a bit different to usual, but I thought I'd test it out, so I would really love feedback on if you enjoy this type of post and, if so, what other topics you'd like to see me cover. Thanks for all your support xx

Film Review: 'Love, Rosie'

When my friend and I went to see 'If I stay' at the cinema last year we saw a trailer for 'Love, Rosie' starring Lily Collins and Sam Claflin and based on the novel 'Where Rainbows End', which I haven't read but would like too. We turned to each other, and without speaking (we were in the cinema after all, but maybe we did whisper a little) we knew that it was our kind of film. But when it finally came out in the cinema, we never managed to arrange a time when we were both free to see it.

It was my sister's birthday 2 weeks ago and her friend bought her 'Love Rosie' on DVD. So, on Sunday night my sister and I stocked up on Easter egg chocolate and watched it.

Brief Summary: Rosie and Alex are best friends from a very young age. As they grow up, Rosie is a party-girl, popular with the boys, while Alex is smart (...and very handsome!) Alex receives a scholarship for Harvard University and wants Rosie to go with him, but she finds out she's pregnant and lies to her friend to save embarrassment. But sometimes who and what you need is closer than you think...  

In the opening 10-20 minutes of the film, my sister found me really annoying because I kept making comments about how unrealistic it was. I mean, it wasn't so much the plot, because yes parts of that were unrealistic but you kind of have to accept that in films! It was more than, for me, the acting and direction portrayed in the opening  of the film didn't convince me that it could be real. There were several sequences in the film where I kept thinking it was going to be one of those "and then she woke up and it was all a dream" moments. After a while she basically told me to shut up, and I did enjoy the rest of the film, but the  comments about the stupidity of these elements was eating me up inside!

That said, I really like both Collins and Claflin and found them a good pair, who were amusing too! After watching, I had this kind of appreciation for opportunities in life: for love, for travel, for education, for friends, for family, for choices. I know that sounds pretty deep but it just reminded me that sometimes things don't go as planned but it doesn't mean you don't get something good out of it too!

Overall, this film was a wee bit disappointing for me because it was very different to what I was expecting and I'd been waiting so long to see it that I think I made I made it more impressive in my head! But it's watchable and worth it if you're looking for something light-hearted!

Book Review: 'Girl Online' by Zoe Sugg (a.k.a Zoella)

I read this book, which I bought months ago on my Kindle, in little snippets of time I found throughout last week, and then in one particularly long reading session last Friday night!

I heard about this book because I enjoy watching YouTube, and while I've only watched a handful of Zoella's actual videos, the Youtubers I do follow on Social Networking lead me to this relatively recent book! Around the time of its publication, there was a lot of talk about how it had been 'Ghost Written' meaning that Zoe had considerable help in writing it, so much so that there are many parts she didn't write. Whether, or to what extent, that is true never really fussed me. I mean, she was a first-time author and obviously the name of a famous YouTuber is going to sell more copies than any other name. She's still an incredibly talented woman who has worked her butt off to put together a novel and get a publishing contract. Who are we, as unpublished people, to criticise? Its not like she didn't acknowledge her supporters at the back of the book.

Anyway, back to the novel itself. Brief Summary: Socially Awkward Penny suffers from anxiety, but when she and her family end up taking a last minute New York trip with her parents' company for Christmas and New Year, she meets Noah and he just seems perfect. How will the pair's feeling develops, and what are the consequences of distance and secrets?

Pictured: Author & Youtuber Zoe Sugg (plus 'Girl Online' cover)

Ok, so that brief summary turned into more of my own blurb for the book haha, but you get the drift.

I really enjoyed the book as a light-read, and thought that the fact that it dealt with anxiety, panic attacks and techniques for dealing with these things was very useful. I was also fairly glued to the book because I'm a hopeless romantic and it was perfectly soppy ;)

However, unfortunately I did predict some of the key 'shocking twists' very early on, and therefore found it to be quite a predictable read. My friend had told me before-hand that it was quite unrealistic, and I would definitely agree with this, but hey, a girl can dream right?
 Wouldn't we all love the man of our dreams in New York and for our wee blog to be a massive hit that got 300 comments and went viral? Haha xx

Overall, definitely worth it as a fun read with cute and quirky characters, particular Penny and her best friend Elliot, and good on Zoella for powering through the initial criticism, but maybe not a particularly high-level novel