List II: Favourite Cinematography

After having studied Media for four years, it's damn near impossible for me to watch a film and simply take it at face value without commenting on this camera angle here, or that use of lighting there etc etc. This isn't necessarily a bad thing, after having made films within a group I can certainly appreciate the effort gone into seemingly minute details of a production, but there does come a point where I find myself looking for continuity errors within films because I've become so damn picky. I am however a total sucker for pretty cinematography, particularly a nice colour palette- and I found a lovely website (which the following images are all from) called 'Beautiful Stills from Beautiful Films' which I can often find myself trawling just to look at pretty films. SO, my second list is just going to be a few films that I deem 'pretty' with some accompanying pictures and reasons why. It's a bit longer than I expected it to be...so feel free to just look at the pictures and ignore my ramblings!

• Requiem For A Dream (2000)

I made a pretty big mistake in my decision to watch this film alone at around 1 in the morning, and it really shook me up. The film essentially follows a three people attempting to make their way to money in America, and one of their mums- and flits in and out of the characters' drug fuelled utopias, that don't seem so utopic once their drug addictions inevitably become stronger. I'd probably say that it is the bleakest film I have watched in a very long time, and it left in a state of empty shock- but it is a very well put together film, with the perfect combination of fast shots, slow motion, double time and lengthier sequences. Nearing the climax of the film the use of juxtaposition is astounding, especially when combined with Clint Mansell's piece of music, Lux Aeterna, which is a motif used throughout the film, and I think it was that point that really blew my mind (whilst at the same time shook me up completely). I would definitely recommend watching this film if you haven't already, and I have heard that the book is even better.

• Brick (2005)

Thanks to the film noir basis of my A2 Media coursework, I had ample opportunity to analyse Brick at quite some length, which was great. I am totally in love with its colour palette, the use of blues and darkness are perfectly suited to its neo-noir style and make it look really cool- which is something I hope was reflected in the inspiration we took for our own neo-noir! As a whole, the film is really beautifully put together, and I particularly like the wide range of shots- especially close ups of seemingly minor details that create a jar in the flow of the film. Plot-wise Brick is also pretty awesome, and I fall a little more in love with Joseph Gordon-Levitt every time I see it.

• Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (2004)

My decision to watch Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind came from seeing a gif-set on Tumblr and taking a fancy to Kate Winslet looking lovely with colourful hair, and I'm really glad I watched it. I think it'd be pretty easy to expect some sort of heartfelt romance with a bit of comedy due to the cast and name of the film, but in reality I found it to be pretty dark. Due to studying Frankenstein at the same time as watching this, I saw it as a bit of an insight into the scary power science has nowadays- within the film a medical centre has the power to actively map out your brain and utterly erase someone from your memory, such as can be done with procedures like hypnosis (which features in Danny Boyle's Trance), and I guess it's a bit startling that humans can have that sort of power over another's mind. BUT I promise you it isn't all doom and gloom, there are some comedic points and some scenes really are heartfelt and quite sweet, especially as the two main characters are finding themselves falling in love. I know I've harped on a little more about plot than cinematography with this one, but it is also a really pretty film to watch too.

• Kill Bill Vol.1 (2003)/Inglorious Basterds (2009)

This post is getting a little more lengthy than I had originally intended, so my attention is fleeting (as I'm sure anyone's who is bothering to read is too) and I will keep this short. I love all of the Tarantino films I have watched, but these two are probably my favourite. The combination of black and white, anime, and real action in Kill Bill Vol.1 is awesome- I'm not usually one for graphic novel-esque art being incorporated into films but it works perfectly with the film's narrative and doesn't jar it as it often does. Inglorious Basterds is an amazing film- I absolutely loved Melanie Laurent's character, Shoshanna, and I think the film is probably Tarantino's best dialogue-wise- every line seems to be executed with brilliance and it was hugely enjoyable to watch!

• Moonrise Kingdom (2012)

Moonrise Kingdom has become my go-to 'feel good' film of sorts, and it really is a sweet film. As with most of Wes Anderson's films, the colour palette is gorgeous and evocative of the film's mood- this one being a lot of yellows and pastels, which create a pretty happy film to watch! It makes me want to go adventuring with a map, record player and books...and also dance half-naked on a beach. 

...I think that will be all for now!

Gallivanting...in the capital

Today I decided to be spontaneous(ish) and head to London to visit some places I've wanted to for a while! Despite going it alone, I had a really ace day- I probably got more out of it because of deciding to go alone actually. I did spend most of the day wandering aimlessly and pretending not to be lost, but I got to everywhere I wanted to go in the end- namely Brick Lane, Portabello Market and Camden.

 

A standard outfit selfie- first time I've worn this Motel Rocks dress and I quite liked it! Bit impractical due to being made entirely of mesh, but I teamed it with a lace bralet and a black skirt which worked fine. I also wore silver socks and my mint green converse, which I have fallen a little in love with!

After getting a little lost in the Brick Lane area I stumbled upon a Rough Trade and just "having a look" inevitably turned into spending money on pretty records. I tried to get the Group Love/Manchester Orchestra/Frightened Rabbit collab record on RSD '13 but David's didn't have any available- so I jumped at the chance to buy it today. I haven't listened to it yet but I'm pretty hopeful! I also couldn't resist getting my hands on Tame Impala's Elephant, which sounds amazing.

Cool signage in the Portobello Road area

I've seen a lot of people say things about Bubble Tea but never really knew what it was about. I still don't know what it is about- my mouth was so confused when drinking this! There was liquid. Then chewy bubbles. Then liquid. Chewy stuff. More chewy stuff. (and so on). BUT it really was rather yummy and I will have to try more flavours at some point!

Pretty pastel houses

I trawled around a lot of vintage shops/book shops and the like, but this was a really lovely one that smelt exactly like David's and was totally jam packed! After a fair bit of deliberation I settled on buying The Naked Lunch which I have heard odd/interesting things about, and I am looking forward to reading it at some point in the near future.

To round the day off I settled down by Camden Lock to read Alice in Wonderland for a little while, which was lovely! I also spent the best £4 of my life on a well needed Chinese of noodles and chicken, then returned home. 

I'm completely shattered but I had an ace day, and I definitely need to do things like this more often!

Tattoo(s)

Fairly recently I got my first tattoos done. After much deliberation and mind changing (I had considered everything from a puzzle piece to a Penguin Books logo) I settled on quotation marks on my forearms- and I really do like them. Of course there is a worry that having them in such an obvious place as my arms is silly, and that there is a possibility that certain professions will not accept them, but I do not regret them one bit! As a self-confessed book nerd, who keeps their own quote book, they just seem very suited to me and I am looking forward to getting more tattoos done in the future- possibly including getting some text done which would be exciting!

Vinyl appreciation

I got a record player for Christmas, and it's quite possibly the best gift I've ever received (despite the fact that my bank balance has been severely dented by my growing obsession with vinyl). Everyone always says it, but, music really does sound better on vinyl. This may be because I have really awful laptop speakers, but there's just something lovely about listening to records- even if they are a little dusty/scratched/crackly, it's all part of the fun! So I thought I'd take a few pictures of some of my favourite records, because records are cool.

Record Store Day means exclusive coloured vinyl and this purchase made me very happy!

More coloured vinyl courtesy of RSD '13. Sigur Ros are perfect to listen to on vinyl. They aren't the sort of band that you can just listen to the odd song when it comes on shuffle, I find that I need to listen to their albums as a whole rather than the songs as separate entities. I recently bought their latest album, Kveikur, and it sounds wonderful on my record player!

I don't think a day will come where I can't enjoy listening to Foo Fighters. I saw them on their Wasting Light tour (along with Biffy Clyro, Tame Impala, and Deathcab for Cutie) and it was the best night of my life to date, so I think this album will always be a reminder of that night!

I am finding that I'm listening to LC! less and less, as well as maybe losing enjoyment in listening to them. BUT this album is still beautiful and listening to it from time to time is nice, and To Tundra is possibly one of my favourite songs ever.

That's all I have to say on the vinyl front for now! I am definitely in need of a trip to David's Music to stock up on vinyl/secondhand books- I'm sure a 'haul' post will follow once I do.

List I: films to watch and books to read

I think I probably love films just as much as I love books, and spend a fair amount of time lusting over the enormity of those which I want to consume- which generally ends with me making list after list of things to watch and read, then forgetting about them. That said, I will continue making lists of them anyway!

Films:

• Schindler's List
• The Pianist
• A Clockwork Orange
• Trainspotting
• To Kill a Mockingbird
• V for Vendetta
• A Beautiful Mind

Books:

• Alice in Wonderland
• Wuthering Heights
• The Metamorphosis
• The Outsider (re-read)
• Schindler's Ark
• Romeo and Juliet
• Rebecca
• Great Expectations
• Cloud Atlas
• Captain Corelli's Mandolin

(and quite a few others, but I'll stop there)

The advantage of having a lot of time on my hands is that I've been able to watch/read a lot of stuff this summer already. A film I can recommend (despite the fact that it shook me up to the point where I was scared to go to the toilet in the night) is Requiem for a Dream (2000), which I stupidly decided to watch in the early hours one morning. It's quite possibly the bleakest film I have ever seen, and will leave you with little or no hope for future happiness BUT it was exhausting to watch, with a beautiful and powerful soundtrack and left me pretty awestruck- so, watch it! Of my recent reads my favourite has definitely been Aldous Huxley's Brave New World, which a customer at work recommended to me after having seen me reading Orwell's 1984. I got totally lost within the society created in the novel, and it was really difficult to grasp the fact that it was written in 1931 and not the 21st Century- which made it a really compelling and interesting read!

Hello,

a friend suggested I should start a 'lifestyle' blog of sorts to flit away the ridiculous amount of spare time I currently have on my hands as I'm waiting to go to university at the end of September- so here I am. My name is Amy and I recently finished my A Levels (English Literature, Maths and Media) at a school in Hertfordshire, and of course, despite constantly nagging myself to not waste the summer and do something fun everyday, the majority of my days have in fact been spent lazing around my house and not getting dressed. This, however, is something I would like to change! There are quite a few things I'd like to do before going to Southampton (hopefully), so perhaps the novelty of having a blog on which to speak of adventures to London and such like will spur me to get off of my arse and out of the house. But, if this fails, at least I am reading enough to give you a fairly steady flow of book reviews if I have anything worth saying! So, I guess that's all for now, and I will leave you with a picture of my face below.