Film Review 'Blended'

This was one of those many films which I saw the cinema trailer for, and kept trying to arrange to go and see but I was always either busy, or my friends were busy or whatever, until it was no longer in the cinema or in the forefront of my head! Recently, my family were away on holiday and I had an evening to myself and nothing particular I wanted to watch so I went into the DVD rental store and saw this.


I always enjoy a good Adam Sandler comedy. I just think he's hilarious! I also love the movie '50 First Dates' which sees him star alongside Drew Barrymore, as is the case in 'Blended'.


Brief Summary: Barrymore's character is a single mum. She works as a wardrobe organiser and has no real love life to speak of. Sandler is a single father with three daughters whose wife died when they were very young. When they meet on a blind date it does not go well. However, when Barrymore's business partner and Sandler's boss (another couple) cancel their holiday with the kids in a family resort called 'blended' (a resort designed specifically for bonding time between members of non-traditional families) Sandler and Barrymore are each offered a room. What they're unaware of, is the fact that the other will be there.


The story is funny. Unbelievable, but funny. While it does end up as a romance (which I'm a sucker for!), the real charm of this film lies in the extra storylines: the teenage daughter without a mother longing to be treated like an adult and be noticed by the cute guy at their dinner table, the little kid restricted by his mother's overprotective attitude, the daughter who thinks she can talk to her invisible 'mum', the dad who think he's a dad but is never around, the funny dancing guy at the holiday resort who seems to appear out of nowhere, the list goes on...!


A very funny duo, and  a film I found myself not wanting to end! Made me kind of sad coz I watched it on the first night that my family was away and I couldn't see them for 10 days! But otherwise, a great watch!

Film Reviews: 'The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel' & 'The Second Best Exotic Marigold Hotel'

I bought the first of these films on DVD from a car boot sale a while back, but never got round to watching it. Then, at the end of July, I had a close friend of mine from England up to stay for the weekend (it was a really awesome weekend- so maybe I should do a post just about what we got up to?) and we decided to watch the first one, and rent and watch the second one too! I then reached the first one a couple of weeks later with another friend who had just returned from the part of India in which the film was shot!

The best word to describe these films is heart-warming. The first follows the stories of several elderly people who have made the decision to uproot their lives and check into a hotel in India which is a 'retirement community' (but id really a financially unstable crumbling business run by a young man, played by Dev Patel, with a big heart and a big dream, who's simultaneously coping with the pressures of a controlling mother who won't allow him to marry the girl of his dreams).


Throughout the first film you see each resident develop as a person, watch them discover who they really are and make peace with the fact that they have a limited number of months left in this world. The cast, which included Maggie Smith, Judi Dench, Penelope Wilton, Celia Imray, Bill Night, Tom Wilkinson and Ronald Pickup, were sensational and the plot inspiring.


The second film carries their stories on, as competition from another buyer casts doubt on the future of the Exotic Marigold Hotel Franchise dream. These stresses test the lead characters devotion to each other, and their collective goal and reminds us all that life is worth living, and that we should make the most of every single day (I don't care if some of you view that as cliché haha!)


All-in-all, a fantastic duo of films and I definitely recommend them. They would make for a really nice family movie night too, as their inspirational messages and comedic value hold something for everyone!

Book Review: 'Did I mention I love you?' by Estelle Maskame

I bought this book for my kindle because I had seen it among other popular Young Adult books in the bookshops and then came across it mentioned in a Facebook group I'm a part of, saying that it was a book which originated as a self-published novel on Wattpad and had inspired many girls my age to pursue dreams of writing. I finished it about a month ago but I've been really bad at blogging recently!


Brief Summary: Eden agrees to spend the whole summer at her dad's new house, finally meeting her stepmum and 3 step brothers. While at home she was battling issue of breakdown in friendships and a lack of positive self body image, at her dads she finds herself hanging out with teens who party every other night. Eden must learn to deal with all of this, on top of discovering that being the new girl automatically makes her attractive to boys, including her eldest stepbrother!


I didn't think the standard of writing in this book was particularly sophisticated, however it was perfectly well written.


Parts of the story were very relatable and realistic, such as groups of guys and girls hanging out and getting ready for parties and getting drunk!


But, without giving too much away, the sudden romance between Eden and her step brother was quite unrealistic, considering how deeply she hated him and how much of a jerk he was!


It also bothered me a little bit that Maskame hinted that Eden was obsessively exercising and perhaps even skipping meals, but never sort of came to any real conclusion on whether she was struggling with her body image or anything, which I felt gave the wrong impression about how 'normal' girls react to being made to feel overweight, and how they should be acting. I may have read far too much into it but, that's the problem, it wasn't really made clear- in fairness I didn't realise that this book was the start of a trilogy when I was reading it.


I was also a little disappointed in the ending- it was fine, but a wee bit of a let down!


That said, DIMILY was a great summer read, and had an appeal to it that made me want to keep reading and never put down my kindle! Perhaps for a slightly younger audience? Actually maybe not the issues of drugs and parties and sex are more repayable to my age group I think! Although, increasingly from 15/16 upwards....


The second book of the trilogy is to be released at the end of this month and I think I will read it, but I won't be rushing to run out and buy it on the day its released, so I guess that gives you an impression of how I enjoyed it overall, but it won't make it in my top reads of all time!


Catriona Xx

Book Review: 'Paper Towns' by John Green

Ok, so once again I've been absent from my blog for far too long!! Just getting round to getting on with it really, but definitely hoping to use it more in the next few weeks- missing regular writing!

I read this book at the start of summer, about a 5 or 6 weeks ago! So I apologise for my lack of detail! I decided to order it from my library when I heard that the film was being released on August 17th (3 days ago!), but it was in high demand so I didn't have a long loan of it, causing me to purchase it on my kindle when I wasn't done in time! I considered just reordering it but I was at a very gripping point and just wanted to find out what happened! Actually, the whole novel was gripping and addictive!



I liked how well the lead characters were developed. The relationship between leading male Quentin and his friends Ben and Radar is very realistic, particularly in terms of their chat about girls and prom and cars.... In fact, the whole final weeks of school setting was very relatable to me and helped the book to appeal to me especially, as I mentioned in my last post: 'A Lot of Lasts'



The leading female character of Margo is largely not in the novel, as she mysteriously disappears, leaving the story to follow Quentin's search for her. Overall, I found Margo a fairly unrealistic character- imagine every drama and extreme in one person and you're almost there! HOWEVER, that said, I found many of the individual traits of Margo very realistic: her confidence, her rebellion, her loneliness despite popularity, her emotion and anger, her desire for a fresh start and many many more.


As usual, I read far more deeply into the characters than perhaps everyone would, because it helped me to relate better, and I therefore suspected that John Green had intended Margo to suffer from some sort of depression, but put on this brave, independent front in an attempt at masking it. That's one of the many great things about Green's characters; everyone can interpret something different from them.


Overall, this was a fantastic book, and I am so happy that I read it when I did, because it meant I could relate to it on so many different levels! It will be very interesting to see Cara Delevingne and Nat Wolff's portrayals of the lead characters when I go to see the film on Wednesday. I'm very excited so watch this space! (cheesy I know, but I've always wanted to day that)


Catriona x

A Lot of Lasts

I'm currently reading John Green's 'Paper Towns' in which the main characters are in their last few weeks of High School, and are bonding over experiences such as 'Finals', Graduation and Prom. There's a certain sentence which I just read this evening which got me thinking back to my recent experience in this area and inspired me to write about it:

"It is so hard to leave- until you leave. And then it is the easiest goddamned thing in the world."

I wasn't as emotional as I expected to be on leaving school. I think this was partly because by the end of sixth year I felt very much ready for a new challenge and adventure, to meet new people and to gain a little independence. But that's not to say that I wasn't sad. Sometimes, among my many 'lasts' I took a step back from being a part of the chatter and laughter and just thought 'I've spent 6 years with these people in this place ad goodness knows when or if I'll see them again. We will never all be in the same room again. Where will we all be in another 6 years time?'

I think the many lasts possibly helped me to detach myself a little. I mean, nothing was really the last thing! There was the last of each of my lessons, and then the last day. Then each exam was a last, especially the last one! Then I was back in for all kinds of rehearsals and to help with inductions. Then there was prom, and then the last school concert and then the last prize-giving.

To bring it back to the quote from the very talented Mr. John Green (which I think could be used in many leaving situations, but I'm gonna stick with leaving school just now!) the overall idea of never going back to my school days and routine is a little overwhelming, but now that it is behind me, I'm coping as though it never existed! I mean ok, its technically the school holidays so I guess the real test will be when I haven't had to attend school for a term, or a year! But my last day of classes was over 12 weeks ago and I'm quite into my current routine of working full-time and chilling with friends! To put that time into proportion, its just 7 weeks until I move to Uni!

And my school lasts are not alone in marking the end of a chapter in my life; my last night with my brownies and rangers units, my last music lesson, last family holiday (at least for a wee while), last district orchestra concert..... and the list could probably go on.

I think what I can summarise from my rambling here haha, is that, while school is undoubtedly something which plays a huge part in our lives and from which I have received so much support and opportunities to develop skills I will take with me into the 'real' world, it is just one thing in which we will experience lasts, yes, but also firsts. So many new adventures lie ahead and so, in the end, its the physical and mental act of leaving school that seems at the time to be the biggest drama in the world, but once you've left, the memories remain but it really doesn't feel like such a big ordeal after all!

Book Review: 'Wishing for Someday Soon' by Tiffany King

I actually finished this book over 3 weeks ago, so I doubt I'll have an awful lot to say about it! But nevertheless, I wanted to make a few comments, if only because I can't believe I haven't blogged for a month!!! I do apologise, I've been really busy with work and music, and when I wasn't I was either very tired or lacking motivation.

I was given 'Wishing for Someday Soon' as a birthday present from a friend whose book recommendations I almost always enjoy. It took me a wee while to get round to reading it, but not long to read once I started.

It was quite a good book which follows the story of Katelyn and her younger brother Kevin, who's mum moves them about from one town to the next in accordance with the ending of her numerous disastrous relationships, who fuels her own addictions over buying necessities such as food and clothes for her children, and who abuses her children horrifically, verbally, emotionally and physically.

Due to this train of themes, it is a pretty difficult book to read emotionally, because it reminded me that there are kids whose lives are like that, who have nothing and are ,made to feel worthless and at fault for their own hardships.

The story unravels as a local boy begins to take an interest in Katelyn, who finds it increasingly difficult to carry out her usual routine of hiding her circumstances, especially as her new town is very small.

The book is both realistic and non-realistic. Realistic in the sense that it draws attention to very real issues, but non-realistic in its love story capacity. As sweet as it sounds, the whirlwind romance was a little unbelievable!

Overall, I enjoyed this novel but feel that it was a bit young for me, not necessarily the theme but in the writing style. I'd pitch it at a 13-16 age groups :)

Book Review: 'Eleanor & Park' by Rainbow Rowell

I finished this novel in a sort of marathon read after my music exam on Monday when I came out and all I wanted to do was snuggle down with a cup of tea and a good book. I had treated myself to a copy from Waterstones a few months ago but hadn't got round to reading it.

'Eleanor &  Park' is one of those super popular books that every girl who reads has read at some point in the last year or so, or probably will read over the next few months. It doesn't claim not to be a love story, because that's exactly what it is. But, as a hopeless romantic, I just loved it.

Honestly, I like most books I read. I very rarely finish a book which I didn't enjoy even a little bit. And I'm always willing to try reading anything. After, 'To Kill a Mocking Bird', I wanted to read something quite light and girly. I wouldn't say that 'Eleanor & Park' was light on the sense that it dealt with some pretty deep and moving issues, however it was what I would consider a lighter read in terms of difficulty.

Brief Summary: Eleanor has recently moved back in wit her mum, horrid stepdad and younger siblings. Her step dad domestically abuses her mum and has the whole family controlled and living in fear in a tiny house and without enough money to properly live. Park is from a fairly well-off family. Due to being smart, a comic-book geek and half Korean he is a bit of an outsider at school, but sill has friends and a pretty good life. His dad thinks he needs to man-up so they don't get on that well. When Eleanor and Park find themselves sat together on the school bus, a relationship of passion, necessity and affection begins.

The first 2/3 of the book are quite realistic and, for that reason, hard hitting. The conditions of Eleanor's ;life and the pressures of Park's are something I will never understand fully, but feel as though Rainbow Rowell captured them exceptionally well. The escalating romance is believable because its not nothing and then all at once, but more of a gradual bit-by-bit development. Instantly, as a reader, you want them to get together, they both deserve each other so much.

The last third is a little unrealistic. Without giving away too much, Park begins to make sacrifices and decisions for Eleanor which in real life just wouldn't happen- because his parents would step in and sort it out instead of allowing it!! However, if you can get over that, which I did, it is still very well written. Rowell makes you want a happy ending so badly, but doesn't exactly give it you. But the ending leaves you hopeful, that's all I'll say!

The way in which Rowell captured both characters' vulnerability (as well as the personalities of other secondary characters!) is incredible and truly makes 'Eleanor & Park' a great and unique read which I didn't want to end! I will definitely read more of he work in the future! If you haven't read it, go and do so. I promise it won't disappoint!