Film Addict's March Film Choice

For this month and next I have decided to choose relatively new additions to my vast film collection that I have bought on a whim recently or because I like the actor and I missed it when the film was released in the cinema if they are recent.  For the Film Addict's March Film Choice, I have chosen Begin Again.

Begin Again is the 2013 musical comedy-drama directed by John Carney, starring Keira Knightley (Pirates of the Caribbean series, Pride & Prejudice) and Mark Ruffalo (Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Kids are Alright) in the lead roles.  Supporting stars include Hailee Steinfeld (True Grit, Ender's Game), Adam Levine (leader singer of Maroon 5, American Horror Story), James Corden (Into the Woods, One Chance), Yasiin Bey (The Italian Job, The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy), CeeLo Green (musician), and Catherine Keener (Captain Phillips, Into the Wild).

Rating: 9

Recommended To: Ruffalo and Knightley fans

Favourite Characters: Steve - fantastic secondary character shone amongst the cast

Favourite Part: Greta: [...] No, I love your songs.  I'm...I'm...I'm being fucking horrendous right now which is exactly why I need to, um, I need to go home.
Steve: It's exactly why you need to come with.  [Slams Greta's laptop closed] Come on, I insist.
Greta: I really...
Steve: [Interrupts] Pick that up and come with me.  You're coming.  I'm not leaving you here.
Greta: Okay.
Steve: Come back, I'll find your fucking head in the oven.  Come on.

Good Points: How Dan and Greta were introduced; the music; the way New York was captured; funny; the closeness of the leads

Bad Points: Musical montages were a bit much after a while

Geek Alert - March Loot Crate

It's Loot Crate time once again and it's another bit of geeky stuff for me this month while I decide on whether to continue My Geek Box, my other geek subscription.

Geek Alert - March My Geek Box

It's the middle of the month again and that means that My Geek Box has arrived; this month, I struggled to find a suitable header for this post but I liked this one because blowing out candles on a cake means birthday to me.

Love Food - The Burger

For Christmas, my mum bought me a few cookbooks and I thought I'd try out something out of one of them and this time, I chose burgers because I have never really made anything like that and since I'm on holiday from work.

Months ago, I bought a burger press at work - we have a lot of random things - which is probably inspired my mum to buy The Burger cookbook for me.  As well as making burgers, I thought I'd review The Burger just to bring something back to my blog seen as I've been in a slump recently with reviews, both books and films.  Though I've only chosen one recipe from the book, I am going to review how easy the instructions were to follow and then maybe review another recipe later on.

Film Addict's February Film Choice

We all get the winter blues every so often, I know I do especially when I get stressed out or someone winds me up, so I thought I'd review a cheery film that is random and makes me smile throughout.  So, the Film Addict's January Film Choice is Ten Inch Hero.  It's nothing rude, I swear.

Ten Inch Hero is David Mackey's 2007 independent romantic comedy film; stars include Elisabeth Harnois (CSI: Crime Scene Investigation, Keith), Clea DuVall (Argo, Heroes), Sean Patrick Flanery (Saw 3D, The Boondock Saints), Jensen Ackles (Supernatural, Dark Angel), Danneel Harris (One Tree Hill, Friends with Benefits), and John Doe (Roswell, The Good Girl)

Rating: 9

Recommended To: Comedy fans

Favourite Characters: Priestly

Favourite Part: Priestly: You're shittin' me. Jen, please tell me you didn't leave Fuzzy sitting down there wondering.  God damn it Jen.                 
Jen: I don't expect you to understand.    
Priestly: Oh I understand.  I understand you wouldn't talk to him 'cause you were terrified he'd judge you on the basis of your looks, yet you're completely comfortable doing the exact same thing to him.  Unbelievable, god!

Good Points: The employees of the sandwich shop; touching film with interesting dialogue; visually vibrant; funny

Bad Points: Priestly at the end; Piper's storyline

Geek Alert - February Loot Crate

It's the end of the month which must mean that it's Loot Crate time and that means a monthly dose of weird and wonderful geeky stuff, or a second dose because of my My Geek Box subscription, but I have been looking forward to Loot Crate arriving.

Geek Alert - February My Geek Box

While Loot Crate is a mystery by itself, My Geek Box is the mother of all mysteries every month other than the theme because they don't even give you a hint at what will be in the box.  You are guaranteed to get a T-shirt but there is no clue what will be on it or what else will come with it and that's a quality I like about My Geek Box.

Jupiter Ascending

Choices at the cinema are a bit limited at the moment depending on what you want to see seen as Fifty Shades of Grey is dominating nearly every screen at my local cinema and it doesn't seem like my cup of tea, at least not at the cinema given the content.  However, with my sister back home for the weekend, we all went to see one of the other films that came out recently for something to do as a family.

Jupiter Ascending is the 2015 space opera directed by The Wachowskis starring Channing Tatum (Magic Mike, 21 Jump Street), Mila Kunis (Black Swan, Family Guy), Eddie Redmayne (The Theory of Everything, Les Misérables), Sean Bean (Game of Thrones, Lord of the Rings series), and Douglas Booth (Noah, Great Expectations).  Known for their unusual films, such as The Matrix series and Cloud Atlas, the Wachowskis have brought another wonderfully weird addition to their collection.

Rating: 7

Recommended To: The Wachowskis fans

Favourite Characters: Caine; Stinger

Favourite Part: Jupiter: Because a dream is the only way any of this make sense.
Caine: Compared to what? The idea that you're the only intelligent species, on the only inhabitable planet, in a universe so full of planets that you don't even have a number to describe how many there are.

Good Points: Visually spectacular; very different than normal; Caine and Stinger's relationship

Bad Points: Really had to concentrate; Kalique seemed a little useless; predictable

Film's Addict's January Film Choice

It was one of my best friends' birthday last week so like I did back in August for my kid sister, I have dedicated the Film Addict's January Film Choice to her and she chose Serenity, the film sequel to the Firefly TV series, one of her favourite films as well as mine.

Serenity is the film continuation of Joss Whedon's TV series Firefly, a space western, with the same main cast that portrayed the crew in the TV series plus new additions which allows the world Whedon created to be expanded.  Stars of Serenity include Nathan Fillion (Castle, Slither), Gina Torres (The Matrix Reloaded, Suits), Alan Tudyk (I, Robot, Frozen), Adam Baldwin (Chuck, The Last Ship), Summer Glau (Arrow, Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles), Jewel Staite (Stargate Atlantis, Space Cases), Sean Maher (Much Ado About Nothing, Arrow), Morena Baccarin (V, Gotham), and Chiwetel Ejiofor (12 Years a Slave, American Gangster), many of whom have starred in other works that Whedon has directed and written.

Like the Film Addict's May, August, and November Film Choice, there is a special point that I have added that my friend picked and this time it was her favourite part.

Rating: 9

Recommended To: Anyone; Joss Whedon fans; sci-fi fans

Favourite Characters: Mal - typical outlaw hero; Wash - always been my favourite

Favourite Part: Wash: It's okay, I'm a leaf on the wind!
Mal: What does that mean?

Good Points: Characters were fantastic; expansion of the universe Serenity is set in; continuation from the TV series

Bad Points: Not quite the same as the TV series

Special: First scene on-board Serenity

Bookworm Wednesday

What books would make great book club picks?

I truly struggled with this topic because I have never really taken part in a book club but I understand the concept, in some ways, it was weird that I picked this topic for my own challenge but at least it made me think more. I could only pick six books instead of my normal ten because for me, book clubs mean you discuss the book you read and these six are the only ones I thought could generate a truly great discussion because my other books are too niche in my opinion or are just some fluffy entertainment.

Geek Alert - January Loot Crate

It's Loot Crate time and everything from across the pond is starting to arrive at a normal rate, sort of, and once again, it's weird and wonderful with a retro spin on the usual random items.

Tim Waggoner - The Roads Not Taken

I got fed up with being too slow at writing my reviews, which is my own fault because I got busy with work and got distracted too easily, so I decided to read a small book to revitalise my need to read more.

Based on the Supernatural TV series and its primary characters, The Roads Not Taken is a choose-your-own-adventure book by Tim Waggoner where fans of the series and the like can take fate into their own hands and make some of Sam and Dean's decisions for them and see how long they would survive.

Rating: 8

Recommended To: Supernatural fans

Favourite Character: Dean

Favourite Part: Shulman's Model

Good Points: Interesting to have control over the Winchester's fates; multiple endings; the stories were interlinked

Bad Points: Could have been longer; Here Kitty, Kitty was too obvious

Bookworm Wednesday

Name your favourite book series.

From standalone books to series that seem to go on forever, I love all kinds of books and when I find a series I really enjoy, I have a tendency to buy the entire series (if they're out already) so that I can continue it as I presume most book bloggers do; the blogs I read do at least.

Geek Alert - January My Geek Box

It's a new year and with that comes new things.  January's My Geek Box arrived today which I was excited about, as I tend to be because of my puppy-like personality.

Into the Woods

It's a new year and to mix things up a bit, my mum and I went to see the new adaptation of Into the Woods as it intrigued me with the different actors that were taking part in it and the plot of the musical it was based on and how they were going to adapt that to screen even though I have never seen the musical.  Musicals aren't my favourite kind of film, even though a lot of Disney films are musical in some way, but I like to watch them occasionally so it's something different to see.

Into the Woods is the 2015 Disney musical film by Rob Marshall based on Stephen Sondheim's musical of the same name starring Meryl Streep (The Devil Wears Prada, Julie & Julia), Emily Blunt (The Devil Wears Prada, Gnomeo & Juliet), James Corden (Gavin & Stacey, One Chance), Anna Kendrick (Pitch Perfect, Up in the Air), Chris Pine (Star Trek series, Rise of the Guardians), Tracey Ullman (Corpse Bride, How I Met Your Mother), Christine Baranski (The Big Bang Theory, The Good Wife), and Johnny Depp (Edward Scissorhands, Pirates of the Caribbean series).  Into the Woods is inspired by a number of fairy tales including Rapunzel, Jack and the Beanstalk, Cinderella, and Little Red Riding Hood as several of the characters are brought together and a story is wound around them.

Rating: 7

Recommended To: Musical fans

Favourite Characters: Baker - great character development

Favourite Part: Jack: Magic what type of magic? 
Baker's Wife: Tell him.
Baker: Magic that, uh, defies description.

Good Points: Very surreal but very enjoyable; interesting amalgamation of fairy tales; production design is wonderful

Bad Points: Could be overcomplicated for children

Bookworm Wednesday

What are your favourite books that you received as a gift?

It is officially the first Bookworm Wednesday ever and I thought I'd start with a festive-ish kind of start because it has been Christmas and etc. in the last month so I assume you may have got books for presents; I know I did at least because my friends and family know I'm such a bibliophile or I asked for certain books so here are some of my favourite books that I have received.  On this list, I have also included some books I was given as a gift years ago because they were, and still are some of my favourite gifts.

Update from the Bibliophile

I hope everyone has had a wonderful Christmas and New Year, mine was quiet but I was working around both dates so the quiet festive season was a blessing.

As of today, I have invited someone to join The Bibliophile + FilmAddict as a co-blogger; she is interested in music as well as books so every so often, there may be another post about music she would like to share or a book she has read.  I thought it would be a great addition to this blog and I hope everyone will enjoy it too.

As well as a new co-blogger, I know a lot of book review blogs do weekly memes and a lot of people take part in them and I have thought about joining them over the course of last year.  However, they have already started and I would like to start a weekly meme from the very beginning; on top of that, they have some challenges that I'm not keen on so I have decided to start my own meme as of next week called Bookworm Wednesday which anyone can join if they so choose.

The list is much like The Broke and the Bookish's Top Ten Tuesday and Book Badger's Five Friday Favourites but it's my own version; it's a Who? What? Where? kind of meme.

Geek Alert - December Loot Crate

Happy anniversary!!!

Because I live across the pond in jolly old Blighty, sometimes it takes a while for things to get through customs, especially at Christmas because it gets busy so this month's Loot Crate took longer to get here.  Fortunately, it was a fantastic parcel that was worth waiting for.

Film Addict's December Film Choice

As of this month, I have graced this planet for 23 years and in celebration of that, I have decided to share with you, anyone who is out there, one of my favourite films.  My original intention was to review New Year's Eve on New Year's Eve because I thought it would fit but when I was watching it, I thought it would be a better idea to share one of my favourite films because that's what Film Addict's Choice of the Month is really, though occasionally, the definition changes whenever I think something might suit a particular month.  So this month, the Film Addict's December Film Choice is Dogma.

Dogma is a comedy film written and directed by Kevin Smith in 1999 starring Ben Affleck (Gone Girl, Good Will Hunting), Matt Damon (The Bourne Identity, Good Will Hunting), Linda Fiorentino (Men in Black, Vision Quest), Alan Rickman (The Harry Potter series, Love Actually), Salma Hayek (Puss in Boots, Grown Ups), Chris Rock (Madagascar, Grown Ups), Jason Lee (My Name is Earl, The Incredibles), George Carlin (Bill and Ted's Most Excellent Adventure, Cars), Jason Mewes (Clerks, Chasing Amy), and the director himself, Kevin Smith (Clerks, Chasing Amy).  Affleck, Lee, and Mewes are frequent collaborators with Smith, appearing in a number of his other work and Mewes and Smith are known for their portrayal of the dynamic duo, Jay and Silent Bob, characters that pop in various films.  Dogma triggered a lot of controversy prior to its release due to its take on Catholicism but it is not meant to offend and it is worth a watch.

Rating: 9

Recommended To: Kevin Smith fans; Alan Rickman fans; Chris Rock fans; those that like quest-like stories

Favourite Characters: Metatron; Rufus; Silent Bob

Favourite Part: Rufus: He still digs humanity, but it bothers Him to see the shit that gets carried out in His name - wars, bigotry, televangelism.  But especially the fractioning of all the religions.  He said humanity took a good idea and, like always, built a belief structure on it.
Bethany: Having beliefs isn't good?
Rufus: I think it's better to have ideas.  You can change an idea.  Changing a belief is trickier...

Good Points: Love the cast and their characters; interesting take on religion; quest-like story; everything comes together nicely

Bad Points: Long film - can drag a bit

Geek Alert - December My Geek Box

It's that time of year; Christmas is here and it wouldn't be Christmas without Wilf wearing two pairs of antlers and dancing.  My Geek Box arrived today which was a nice surprise when I got home from work.