Film Review: La La Land

This will probably be quite a short review, because, as usual, I left it way too long after watching to get round to writing about it, and also because I have a VERY long to-do list unfortunately (including some more blog posts though!)

I had been wanting to see this film since its release and had made plans with friends to see it several times, which kept falling through! Eventually, after a horrible, long week of uni deadlines, my flatmate and I decided to spend our Sunday in Dundee for a bit of shopping, lunch and cinema. It was a MUCH NEEDED treat.

The hype around this had been huge, and at this point it was nominated for a lot of awards (we went on the Sunday afternoon before the Oscars and all the drama with Moonlight and mix-ups ... if you didn't hear about this then you can read about it in this BBC news article ).

Anyway, despite all of the coverage I realised as we entered the cinema that I actually had very little idea what it was about. All I knew was that it starred Emma Stone and Ryan Gosling, was a musical, allegedly had beautiful music, was very emotional and was supposedly rather beautiful! So it sounded right up my street!

Brief Summary: Mia is an aspiring actress, waitressing while she auditions over and over again in LA, and Sebastian is a jazz musician and phenomenal pianist who struggles to keep jobs working as restaurant entertainment, but dreams of opening his own jazz club. The two meet, but can they both love each other and achieve their very separate dreams?

From the very first number it was.. well ... a bit odd! Not in a bad way, but the big, lively opening song appeared to have no real correlation to the rest of the plot.

The music WAS pretty beautiful, and I loved the costumes too. There wasn't really much of a story though! The pair were strangers one minute and in love the next, and the only real climactic point of action was when Mia decided she wants to quit acting, but Sebastian insists she go to the big audition. I make a rule of not including major spoilers, but I will say that that was both a good and bad decision on his part!

It was a love story, and at times that was beautiful, but to be honest I don't think you actually felt connected enough as a viewer to the characters' relationship to root for their love.

What I did root for was their goals. The moments depicting struggle and ambition were particularly heart-warming. Especially Mia's big audition song, "The Fool's Who Dream". I will always relate to the idea of trying to 'make it' in the artistic world, to self doubt, to wondering if its worth it, and I think La La Land, and both Stone and Gosling, depicted these struggles beautifully.

On a side-note, I LOVED

Emma Stone's reaction to

winning her Oscar...

she just seemed so genuine,

like she truly could not believe it!

The dancing, which had been one of the main focuses of the hype, was a little underwhelming! It wasn't that adventurous, and was a bit samey throughout! The idea of two people spontaneously dancing, while a little odd, was pretty romantic though. I particularly enjoyed the museum scene, it was fairly breath-taking.

Finally, I'm afraid I wasn't a fan of the ending. I mean, it wasn't awful... without giving it away, its not a cliché fairy-tale ending, but it is happy in its own way. I just didn't like the way it was done. Like, the whole film is about the couple and let's just say that in an annoyingly short space of time, Mia moves on VERY QUICKLY! Like, who even was that guy at the end?! Rant over.

Overall, I think it was a nice film, and sections of it really were magical and inspiring, but I actually found myself laughing at bits that weren't meant to be funny, just because they were kind of bizarre! I do, however, want to see it again when its on DVD or Netflix, just because I think it's one of those films that could really do with a second watch. Not my favourite film, and I struggle to understand how it got quite that many awards, but certainly a nice feel good for the end of a busy week!

Positive Labels (#IWD17)

The amount of time its taken me to post again is shameful! Not for lack of ideas, as I have a note on my phone that I've been adding to for well over a month, just due to laziness! And the fact that, as I'm a student with very reading and writing heavy courses, my 'free' time is usually spent on Netflix! And getting involved in an increasing number of extra-curricular activities, because I wouldn't be me if I didn't haha.

Once again, I find myself returning to my blog at a time when I couldn't be busier academically! Anything for procrastination. But recently a number of things have contributed to me feeling really creative: reading good books and visiting bookshops; helping out at the local poetry festival; listening to the new Ed Sheeran album; and many other things! To be honest, being a student here in itself is very creatively stimulating. With Spring Break approaching, I'm really looking forward to getting away for a wee while and spending time with family, but every day I'm reminded in some way of how much I love the environment I'm lucky enough to find myself in at the moment. I also thought that bashing out a few rough blog posts (in true 'Draft One' style!) while sitting in a busy library might loosen the writers' block threatening to lower my productivity, and then I might finally get cracking on my essay!

Well, that was some intro! I think this will be one of those rather rambley posts... sorry! This academic year I've really pushed myself to get involved in lots of student activities: the student newspaper, swimming club, student ambassadors, orchestra, trad and folk society, foreign affairs society and a part time job are just a selection of the things I've got involved in my time at university so far. I figure, time here seems to fly by, so I better make the most of it!

It was the annual FAS 'Summit'/conference at the beginning of February that got me note-taking for this post, but honestly I'm not 100% sure what exactly it was I wanted to say, so please bear with me!

The  conference was entitled 'World of Women: Freedom to Succeed Summit'. And I must say, as you can imagine, it was pretty darn inspiring. Since I decided just to listen and enjoy the speeches, I didn't take notes so I won't go into details about what exactly was said, but it was essentially all about empowering women and inspiring stories from across the world. There were reps from many walks of life, from a women who helped found a company producing reusable female hygiene products for impoverished communities, to a woman accountant and business coach, to a lawyer specialising in female Muslim cases, a female representative from NATO,  a student who set up a society aiming to enable female students to believe themselves capable of independent financial security and a well-known journalist, among others. The one thing missing, in my opinion, was a male perspective on the many roles of women in our world. But I suppose not everyone would agree, and it may not have totally fitted with the programme for the day.

Yesterday (March 8th) was International Women's Day, and I spent much of the day pondering what that meant, and if I was a fan! It's similar to the issues I encountered when considered my views on Feminism (see my post called 'I am a Feminist... I think'). Why do we have an International Women's Day? Are we encouraging a binary gender divide and inequality by dedicating a day to women? I'm
not going to claim that those issues are totally cleared up in my head, and everyone is entitled to their view, but I have generally come to the conclusion that raising awareness about the importance of gender equality and the continuing lack of it visible so often in our world is never a bad thing. We just wouldn't exist without distinct roles in society, and certainly without the women in our world. And their achievements and goals and dreams are no more whimsical or idealistic than any man's. Plus, I got to tweet one of my fave old pics of my Mum and I, and celebrate a woman who made me who I am, and I love that.

I don 't think there's much benefit to me getting any soppier, but I'm glad we had #IWD to make us stop and think of these issues. And there was one more point I wanted to touch on. If you read my review of the book 'All the Bright Places' you may remember that, for me, it brought up the problematic issue of 'labelling' and how one of the main characters was caused to really retreat within himself and refuse help as a result of fear surrounding labelling. It was something that certainly struck a chord with me at the time, and must have stayed with me because I thought of it again during this conference, but this time with far more positive connotations...

I was recently speaking to my Mum via Whatsapp, and talking about how I was busy conducting some interviews for the student newspaper, and in her reply she referred to me as a "budding journalist" or "aspiring journalist" or something along those lines. On reflection, as a teenager I definitely shied away from embracing any label that committed me to role or profession, that made me sound productive or successful. Y'know, I'd always answer with "not really" or "haha" or "muuuum... stop being so embarrassing!"  I don't think that that is uncommon.

But sitting in that conference, I suddenly realised that I am proud to call myself an "aspiring journalist", or anything else that reflects my goals and hard work. Because they can change and adapt, but its ok to admit what I want right now and believe it to be possible.

I'm not sure how much sense I've made, but I really should get back to essay writing! To all my fellow lassies out there, dream big, let those dreams become a part of your identity, and keep kicking ass! There you go, my advice in a nutshell!

Catriona x

21 by 21

I turned 20 on Sunday. 20, wow.

Maybe a wow seems a bit of an exaggerated reaction to a birthday that isn't particularly special, but to me 20 was the first birthday that really seemed like a wow. I felt weird about not being a teen anymore! Thankfully, my preceding bummed out feeling was cured by a lovely birthday weekend spent at home with friends and family. And I know that I'm still young, and to feel old is a bit silly. But still, wow. Enough of my premature aging worries- right now I've got to enjoy being 20!! Plus, this post really wasn't supposed to be about my birthday haha....

If you've followed this blog for any time at all, you'll know that I'm a fan of reading. I always want to read more, and to be motivated to do so. So this year I decided to, once again, find a reading challenge for myself. Preferably one that is manageable and isn't too restricting.

I got the idea for it from a friend who turned 20 mid 2016 and decided to follow some lists she found online: 21 things to do before you're 21, and 21 books to read before you're 21. I thought the book thing would make for an interesting challenge.

So I started googling lists, and found plenty. I had read some of the books on each, so I originally planned to invent my own lists, using books suggested on each list. But then I realised that I already have SO many books that I want to read, and that to follow this challenge would mean putting off reading those for a whole year!

So, instead, my challenge is simply to complete 21 books between my 20th and 21st birthdays. Only books that I read for pleasure will count (unfortunately, since I have 9 plays to read for one module this semester!) and I will just review them as normal here on my blog, but I'll make a wee note in each review of how far through my challenge I am.

If you have suggestions of books I should read, please feel free to leave them in the comments! I'm sure I'll manage to find 21, but I always love to get recommendations. This will be a significant challenge for me because, although I think it sounds very doable, I only read 8 books for pleasure last year! Anyway, here we go, I suppose only time will tell...

Film Review: 'A Monster Calls'

I had a friend staying with me over New Year and, while there's not a whole lot to do in my wee town at the best of times, there's even less when it's pouring with rain and a bank holiday. So we decided to take a trip to the cinema.

My friend was keen to see 'A Monster Calls', having seen the trailer, and I was also up for that choice as I had seen the lead actor, Scottish teen Lewis MacDougall, being interviewed on TV a few days prior, and thought it sounded like it should be good.

Brief Summary: Conor's mum is sick (I think with cancer), he is being bullied at school, his father has moved far away, and his relationship with his grandmother is tense. All looks fairly hopeless. Until he 'befriends' a tree, a special tree who tells him stories, and guides him through the emotional turmoil of terminal illness, growing up and dealing with loneliness.

It's worth noting that I was absolutely full of the cold on the day we went to see this, and hadn't had much sleep. So there's a high chance that I was over-tired and therefore unable to fully enjoy and take in the film.

There were several elements which I really liked about the film. Firstly, the CGI was incredible. I don't really know much about animation, but the tree was phenomenal! In fact, I liked the setting in general... despite being (in my opinion slightly oddly) set in a place that was both very isolated and difficult to pin-point in terms of time, I felt as though the surroundings were realistic and effectively understated.

The emotional intensity of the storyline was another plus point. It certainly made you come out pondering the inevitability of our mortality and the relationships we have and cherish.

I believe the film was based on a book, written by a woman who was herself dying of a terminal illness, and I must say that the concept of a young person dealing with the horror of slowly watching a parent leave them was brilliantly portrayed. I could really feel Conor's sense of hopelessness, his frustration, his desire to hold on, and particularly the battle he felt between that desire and the guilt over just wanting the prolonged pain to end.

However, I'm afraid my overall opinions were much harsher coming out of the film, and so I think it's important that I touch on some of those too, because your immediate reaction to a film may caption its true value.

I was disappointed. Sorry, but I was. Firstly, I wasn't particularly impressed with the quality of acting, and I think this was in part the fault of the script. I didn't truly believe a lot of the words the actors said, and I think too many clichés was one of the key things responsible for that.

The lead was ok, actually pretty good considering his debut film appearance was shot mostly in front of a green screen, which I bet is pretty difficult! I immediately recognised the actress playing the mother, Felicity Jones. I think I'm remembering her from 'Chalet Girl', but a quick search shows me that she's in a lot at the moment. She was quite good, brought down by A LOT of cliché lines, but I liked her performance. It was actually Sigourney Weaver's portrayal of the grandmother that most disappointed me- I just didn't find her all that believable and a bit stiff.

I also found it difficult to connect emotionally to the characters, because I didn't feel as though the script really allowed for us to understand the situation at hand (with the ill mother and absent father) until quite late on in the film. For a while I thought the mother may have depression, or be a drug addict. I suppose that was possibly just me being slow, but I didn't find it awfully clear initially.

This flaw also applies to the rest of the storyline. It sounds strange, but I just found it all a bit random. The stories that the tree was 'telling' Conor were almost like bits of tales I've hear before, full of morals but apparently quite irrelevant to the storyline of the film. Even at the end I didn't really see the connection between all the pieces, like the stories and the mystery behind tree's 'appearances' were kind of just there to fill time. The significance of the tree itself, for example, isn't even revealed until right near the end when the mother suddenly makes a heartfelt speech about how its 'their' tree and will help cure her. And I never really figure out how the tree really features in Conor's life at the same time each day... obviously there isn't really a walking, talking, oak tree in his school cafeteria, but he also isn't dreaming because he isn't asleep. I suppose my insistent need to return to reality is what makes me question that haha. Actually, a lot of the timing itself is quite inaccurate. A shot of a clock will show a time which makes absolutely no sense in the chronology of the action.

While many parts of the film were very good, it was all a bit, well, bitty. As though parts had been taken from several films and bunched together, without a strong enough storyline to hold them all together.

It's possible that I'm just not really equipped to deal with slow moving, low-action films. But yeah, I was a bit bored.

Ok, so enough of the slating. My previously mentioned positive points still stand, and I wouldn't discourage a watch, but I also won't be highly recommending, and probably won't bother re-watching in the future. My expectation was a little bit high perhaps, and I came out feeling disappointed.

Reflection and Recycling Resolutions- Take 2

Happy New Year!! Finally got round to returning to my blog following a wee break (which was much needed after Blogmas!). I'm sorry I never really wrapped up Blogmas with a Christmas Day post as I had planned too, but I was just enjoying time with my family, then a wee holiday to London, then a wonderful Hogmanay at home, and then I was ill for a week! Now, I'm back in my uni house and getting myself prepped for the next semester, so I thought it was definitely time to do my resolutions post.... preferably before January 2017 disappears!

So, I have had the same resolutions for the last 2 years, and so I thought I'd take a leaf out of last-year-me's book, and just use this post to update them a wee bit for 2017! Let's have a look at which ones I actually did something about, and which failed spectacularly!


1) Improve my health (particularly weight and therefore body image) by healthy consideration of both diet and regular exercise. As you may remember, I wrote a post in April 2016 following a comment I overheard someone make about my appearance. It was called 'Can harsh be good, or just rude?' and you can read it here. I suppose I'll never be a spectacularly sporty person, but certainly towards the end of 2016 I was feeling much better myself, because I joined the uni swim club and also started going jogging. Now to just keep it up and control the snacking!

2) Take my appearance a little more seriously- if I feel good about how I look, it could do my mental health a world of good. I will never be one of those girls who can be bothered spending hours on appearance, but 2016 saw me finally do something about my skin, buy lots of comfy clothes I like, even take a risk on a dress I'd never normally wear! And I kept up the haircuts haha! It can be really easy for me to just not care sometimes, but I feel so much better about myself when I do.

3) Write more. Yeah the diary didn't last long in 2016 .... I wasn't going to bother even trying this year, but then I was bought one for Christmas so decided to start once more and see hbow it goes! Thanks to Blogmas and a few rushes of inspiration, my blog is now about to begin it's 4th year, crazy! As for the fiction, very little this year bar a few poems, but I have stuff in the works so I plan to make a bit more time for that this year. It's the starting that's difficult. And the ideas haha!

4) Read more. So you may have noticed that in 2016 I decided to number my book reviews to try and motivate me to read more. I only recorded the books I read for pleasure, but it came to an embarrassingly low total of 8!!! If you add this to the (approx.) 10 books I read for my uni courses in 2016, it looks a lot better. As I've mentioned before, reading for pleasure can be tough when at uni, but I vow that even if it takes me a month per book, I'm going to keep up reading this year. Actually, it can't take me a month per book because I'm setting myself a new reading challenge which I'll write a post about soon. This will not include the 9 plays I've got to read this semester for uni!!

5) Be a nicer daughter/sister. Unfortunately, I slipped up around Christmas, which I always seem to find a hard time to get along with people. I think it's the pressure! I also had a bit of a rough patch with my sister earlier in the year which lasted quite a while, and plenty rough patches with my Mum, as usual. So, I suppose 2016 wasn't great on this one, but so far 2017 seems to be going ok, and I'd like to keep it that way! I'm trying, I really am. I love my family very much.

6) A 'romantic' experience of some kind. ugh, can we just move on? 2016 was the year of downloading and promptly deleting Tinder, and wondering why I seem fixed on the road to be being an old maid....

7) Work hard on my studies. Second semester of first year saw me work hard and be kind of disappointed in my grades. I still more than passed, but French kind of took over my life. First semester of second year saw me step it up, but also in my extra-curricular life, hence the continued pattern of last minute essay writing! Therefore, it is now, at the beginning of 2017 that I have (once again) decided to crack down on my academic dedication. Yeah, so everyone says that at the beginning of a new semester, but I know I'm a hard working student who loves to learn and there's no reason why I shouldn't up my grades a little in time for honours years... scary!

So there we have it, a wee update on how my resolutions went in 2016, and my plans to further them in 2017. I've always expected a lot of myself, but you know what? I'm one of those cheesy people who really does view the start of a new year as a brilliant opportunity to make those little changes. Catch you all this time next year for the same  resolutions?! Let me know yours in the comments.

Movie time! || Blogmas Day 24

It's Christmas Eve... wow! How are you spending the day? I've made the firm decision that I shall sit and watch lots of Christmas films back-to-back. I mean, who doesn't love a Christmas film? Cheesy as anything, but it has to be done! We have a number of festive DVDs, that only get watched once a year, at Christmastime.

Last night, 2 of my friends came over for a night of films, snacks and our annual exchange of cards and presents. It's such a cute wee tradition. So I thought it would be a good opportunity to go through some of my favourite Christmas films here!

So, in no particular order (because I couldn't bring myself to decide which of my favourites is more of my favourite than another haha), here are some of the ones I love:

1) Love Actually


With a classic all-star cast, I'm pretty sure 'Love Actually' was the first film with that now-popular script style, whereby lots of little stories are happening, but are all linked because the characters know each other in some way. Others to follow were 'Valentine's Day' and 'New Year's Eve'. I just love how heart-warming it is.. I mean, it's entirely based on the simple, yet complicated, concept of love, in its many different forms and journeys. A pretty good one for watching with friends, especially if you've already seen it a few times, because it's quite light and it doesn't matter if everyone chats through it!




2) Nativity!

Probably my second favourite Christmas film ever! I love the concept; I was always into classroom kinda stuff as a kid, like playing school and obsessing over school themed books and
films! I love how natural the performances are, because the kids are so wee, and I also love the music!








3) Miracle on 34th Street

The newer one, not the old one! My all time favourite Christmas film. This is the one film that it has been a tradition to watch every year , since I was a kid!
I just love it... the idea, the acting, the magical ending, the hope and belief it inspires in wee ones (and not-so-wee ones!)






4) Elf

My Auntie took me and my cousins to see this in the cinema when it first came out back in 2003 or 2004 (so I was 6 or 7). I'm pretty sure I enjoyed it, although my memory is vague. It wasn't until last
year, when I finished uni for the term, that I decided to buy the DVD cheap online and pop it on while I was decorating the tree. And I just got such a happy, Christmassy feeling when watching it, that it has now made the list!




5) Home Alone

A family favourite! I can't actually remember when I first saw it, but now we have hijacked my Grandad's boxset of all 4 films. I haven't got round to watching them before Christmas this year, but maybe I'll spread them out over the whole festive period and into January, haha!



6) Four Christmasses

I first watched this at a girls movie night at a friend's place when we were maybe 12 or 13. It must have stuck with me, because I put it on my Christmas list the following year. Its really funny, and I suppose heart-warming in the slightly unique way that all Christmas films seem to share. Worth a watch if you're up for a laugh and a less traditional film.





Other "Christmas" films ....

There are a few films that aren't exactly Christmas Films per se, but that I associate with Christmas. For example, Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, Frozen, and, my all-time fave: Little Women I usually read it at this time of year, but the film is excellent too!)

So, there we have it, my favourite Christmas films! What are your favourites? I think mine are mostly quite stereotypical, but oh well!

Festive Pampering || Blogmas Day 23

I'm not usually one for pampering, not really. Never been much of a girly girl. But I think everyone likes to make themselves feel good, and to treat themselves after exams! Especially since its Christmas (that wonderful excuse for everything!)

This week, I've done that in 2 ways. First up, nails! Back in June 2015, I had my nails done with Gelish polish at a local salon for my prom night. I loved having them done, especially since I'm rubbish at nail painting, and nail polish never seems to stay on me very long either.

I loved them so much that, before starting Freshers' Week of my first ever term at uni, I decided to get them done again. I wasn't as taken with them the second time, so didn't go back for a while.

However, a few weeks ago, while I was studying, I noticed that my nails were growing nicely, so I thought I'd treat myself to an appointment in time for Christmas and my holidays.

Of course, typically, my nails all broke before the appointment came around. Actually, my nails can never be very long because a) they are weak and break (possibly a result of my childhood bad habit of biting them!), b) I have eczema and wreck my skin at night if my nails are too long, and c) I play violin and can't have my nails too long for that! But the ladies are always really good, they make your nails look neat and lovely no matter the length!

I was torn between a few red and blue shades, something festive! I settled on a glittery red, and it's so Christmassy! I hope they last at least a couple of weeks, that'd be good!

As those of you who read my LUSH haul post earlier this year will know, I'm a wee bot LUSH obsessed. last year, I went a bit mental with the Christmas range and bought/ was gifted almost every product! This year, I decided to restrict myself to 1 festive bath product, plus some more Snow Fairy shower gel (because it's just the best!).

I originally opted for 'The Magic of Christmas' bubble bar wand, because it is packed full of festive spices and scents, and also lasts several baths. However, I realised that I couldn't actually use it because one of its key ingredients is almond oil (bah humbug to nut allergies!). So, instead, I bought the 'Star Dust' bath bomb and had a wonderfully festive bath.

The Bath bomb itself is white on the outside, and smells faintly of coconut, but when it dissolves it leaves you with a lovely light blue bath that's full of multi-coloured, glittery stars!! I also added a small amount of Snow Fairy under the running tap so that I had bubbles in my bath! And the best part? Star Dust bath bomb is only £2.95!

Taking care of me makes me feel happy, and very festive! What do you like to do to get ready for the holidays? Especially let me know what goes into your favourite festive bath!