Mirror Mirror (movie review)

Mirror Mirror website

We went to watch the new film 'Mirror Mirror' directed by Tarsem Singh and stars Lily Collins, Julia Roberts, Armie Hammer, Nathan Lane, and Sean Bean (obviously that's not all, the many support actors would take hours to write them all down). Based on the story of 'Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs' its a modern twist on an old favourite. The actors who play the Dwarfs are brilliant, especially during the 'fight scenes', the script is good and the actors are strong in their roles. Julia Roberts is extremely good as the Queen (baring a slight resemblance to Queen Elizabeth I, as pointed out by one of my brood), Lily Collins plays a very convincing innocent Snow White who turns her hand to becoming a 'battle ready' young woman to retake her kingdom that is rightfully hers. Armie Hammer plays Prince Alcott and was brilliant from his swashbuckling to his buffoonery he is very dashing and seems to spend a lot of time in his long johns. Nathan Lanes turn as Brighton, the Queens bootlicker and whipping boy, plays a great comedic character, you can't help but feel sorry for the man.

The film has a good pace and plenty for the adults as well as the kids to drink in of its clever twists and turns in the plot. The characters are endearing and memorable with plenty of action as well as the more subtle scenes too, along with breathtaking scenery and great cinematography.

All in all we, as a family, thoroughly enjoyed the film and would recommend anyone to go and see it, just remember it is a 'family' film based on a fairy tale, if you don't have kids you'll try to analyse it to bits and then it loses its fun. Take it for what it is, good family fun and you won't be disappointed in the least.

Pirates! In an adventure with scientists. (The Pirates! Band of Misfits)

From the Aardman studios, creators of Wallace and Gromit and Chicken Run, comes a new creation of charming characters, namely that of 'The Pirates' whose Captain, ironically called 'Pirate Captain' and voiced by the suave voice of actor Hugh Grant, have a bit of a reputation to build as, it seems amongst their peers, their current reputation is a tad lacking in lustre. Pirate Captain has always had his sights set on, and never managed to claim, the much coveted prize of 'Pirate of the Year'. Black Bellamy (voiced by Jeremy Piven) , Peg Leg Hastings (voiced by Lenny Henry)and Cutlass Liz (voiced by Salma Hayek) are all very strong contenders with booty abounds, whilst Pirate Captain and his sturdy crew don't seem to have as much. So, they set out to plunder a plenty and win the 'Pirate of the Year'.

Whilst on their plundering, and rather less booty finding, campaign they set upon a scientist ship with, none other than, Charles Darwin (voiced by David Tennant) aboard. He is out to gain recognition in the Science field, of course, and discovers that Pirate Captains 'Polly' isn't quite a parrot as originally thought. With twists and turns a plenty Pirate Captains crew end up in foggy London, where the Pirate hating Queen Victoria (voiced by Imelda Staunton) reigns.

The story is fun, action packed with many a twist and turn, and to say I shall never think of Queen Victoria again in the same vein is no understatement. It is a good fun family film with a few things the adults can 'catch' that the kids might miss and rather a good soundtrack too. There will be plenty of voices you'll recognise amongst the claymation cast. In my opinion its worth forgetting swabbing the decks, grab your crew and set your sights on the picture house and go see it, me hearties.

I've had a 'hand' epiphany

I suddenly had an epiphany today, I've always wanted to learn to play the guitar, but never seemed to 'get it' very easily, found my fingers don't reach how they possibly should. Well, today it suddenly hit me, afer all these years (I am now 37), I really do have quite small hands. It's funny how it can suddenly dawn on you just how small your hands are.

My hands are so important to me, as they are to most people, but I love crafting, I crochet, knit, cross stitch, make cards, I qualified as a hairdresser (and I do prefer small scissors so I have less chance of slicing large amounts of skin off my fingers and hands) I did learn to play saxophone (keys aren't too far apart on that instrument), I can touch type, I'm told I give a good massage and have also found I can draw (much to the contrary of what my art teacher used to tell me at school) and I quite enjoy cooking too.

But it never really dawned on me, until today, after reading a forum, that I have diddy hands. On a forum someone had written their hands were, from tip of middle finger to base of palm, around 7.25 inches in length, so I got a ruler out, my hands are 6.25 inches long, in that respect. My middle finger, which is my longest, is about 2.75 inches long. I have small hands, excuse me if I find this really amusing.

It is now making a lot more sense to me as to why I've had such trouble, I guess my next move, if I want to play a guitar, is to find a good one for small hands, or maybe a similar instrument that can be played with small hands. Possibly a ukulele, which was mentioned by a music teacher this week while on a school tour who suggested that for children to start on 'as they have smaller hands', again its all adding up and its amusing me no end.

Demise of my favourite denim jeans

I know most people who have ever had a favourite pair of jeans can relate to this, no matter if you're male, female, teenager or of advance years, you will relate to what is going on in my life right now.

I have 2 pairs of jeans, that I have had a few years now, and they are now reaching the point of demise, they are failing to hold together in certain areas and I fear patching them is not an option, or cutting them down. These jeans and I have gone through a lot together, including life on 2 continents. Many a time I've been told I look good in them, a few times I've put a few pound on and found it a struggle to get into them, but the pounds have shed off again and they have been put on again in triumph.

Both these pairs of jeans have a good lycra content in them so they don't go baggy at the knees and they hug the right places and hang where they're supposed to hang. I've looked high and low and cannot find 'the same jeans' to replace them, styles and fashion have changed and now skinny jeans are 'more the thing' which is not the 'thing' that suits me.

I have got a new pair of jeans, which fit fine, but they don't fit as nicely and I have another pair which, as they are a dark wash, look fine being dressed up if needed, but again, they just don't 'fit' as nicely. I shall keep looking and exasperating myself in changing rooms of clothes shops until I do find another 'favourite' pair, in time.

Its strange how you can find just the right fit of jeans if you search long enough, not all cuts suit all shapes. It took me ages to find these jeans and now I'm going to have to bid them farewell. I just hope, at some time, I can find equally well fitting jeans to suit my shape and height.

Keep sharp objects away from me!

Today has been 'one of those days' for me and sharp implements! I was getting my bread maker set up with the ingredients for Cranberry and orange bread, I get my 'Microplane' fine grater out to zest the orange and after a few strokes of the thing I take a nice lump of skin of my knuckle on my thumb on my right hand. So rinse it, and the microplane, wrap kitchen roll around it tightly while I run upstairs to get a plaster and antiseptic. After 'fixing' myself up I then decide to go from right handed zesting, as I am right handed, to left handed zesting, a couple strokes more and bugger me if I don't take a lump of nail off of my thumb on my left hand!! The nail actually stuck in one of the grater holes, so I had to retrieve that, and rinse it AGAIN, a bit of a trim of that nail and a filing and it was fine. Finally got the bread maker going and it came out fine, always smells good when that's cooking!

So rest of the day goes OK, bit sore on the right thumb but nothing that really stops me from doing anything. So I do roast pork for dinner and I usually try to remember to do homemade apple sauce to go with it. So there I am, really good sharp knife, did the shallot, celery (I make a slightly savoury apple sauce for Pork) then I get my two Bramley apples, cut them into four, take the core out, just start taking the skin off and 'here we go again' got a knife blade in my left thumb!!! Luckily for me the knife is super sharp, so it didn't hurt too much when I did it, but it showed quickly I needed yet another clean up and plaster on. So, I sit there for most the evening with a plaster on each thumb and had to use rubber gloves to do the washing up, WHICH I HATE!! All I can say is it's just as well I wasn't going to cut anyone's hair today, I might have lopped an earlobe off or more of my fingers.

So, I have two sore thumbs, 1 short nail and I still have my sense of humour intact. Hopefully tomorrow will be less accident prone!!

This could be deep.

I am sitting here quietly reflecting on the fact that September is nearing its end. This year has been REALLY busy for me and my family. I've found over recent months there has been no 'spare time' to do whatever I'd 'like' to do, only seem to have enough hours in a day to do 'what's needed'.

I've had another birthday, obviously, and yet birthdays and getting older still don't bother me. I'm 'one of those people' who can ALWAYS look back and think of all the achievements I've made in my life, even through tough times. I know I've not had a tougher time than some people, but I might have faced more challenges than others. I know I'm loved by family and friends and I strive hard to keep the people I love 'close' and not 'push them away'; which, if everyone is honest, can be so easily done when you're having a bad day.

I'm a 'creative' person, I love trying new things out, I've surprised myself, and others, at what I can turn my hand to. Just recently I've made jam for the first time, ever. Might not sound much to some people, or rather old fashioned to others, however there's always a great satisfaction to learning a new skill, especially when it has a tasty outcome. I've been 'blackberrying' for the first time this year since I was a child, I enjoyed every minute of it. Yes, I came home with scratches on my hands and up my arms from those pesky thorns, snagged my clothing numerous times and had to battle a few spiders and creepy crawlies along the way, but it was fun. In total I've picked about 4.5Kg of blackberries and have at least half that frozen for use over the coming months. And where I picked my blackberries there were loads left for the wildlife too.

I've rediscovered the 'joy of driving along country roads through open fields'. My trip to go food shopping now is so lovely. Driving through some villages and down these country roads with fields either side. Doesn't seem to matter to me if it's sunny or not, it's just lovely. I've driven them with music blaring from the radio and with peace and quiet in the car and just my thoughts for company.

I've felt, as a mum, I've possibly not spent enough time doing things with my children, however they seem happy and we sit and talk at the dinner table every evening. They are doing well in school and we are able to walk to school, which is the first time since they started school I've been able to do the 'school run' on foot, and I'm quite enjoying that too. When we do get a chance we battle it out at 'Just Dance 1 & 2' on the Wii. Or they whip my butt on Wii Party, but we do have fun. We want the kids to get interested in music. I was one of those kids at school who got 'passed over' by my music teacher as I wasn't 'naturally talented'. However in my adult years I've learned to play the saxophone (although I'm really rusty at the moment but hope to find time again soon to take it up again) and I'm trying to teach myself the piano, a bit. I've got some books to work from and when I have a moment I sit down and have a tinkle on the irovies.

I've not had much time to 'discover' new music lately, which for me is a bit sad, I love music, love listening to it, have such a wide range of taste, it almost becomes like therapy for me and I choose music by my moods. I'll go through phases of different music. Some days I might listen to Prodigy/Pendulum or some heavier rock based music. Other days it'll be along the lines of Eliza Doolittle, Scouting for Girls or some other 'mainstream pop'. Then I'll have days when I'll have heard a piece of classical music on an advert or something and I get a taste for classical music again, or, as was the case the other day, I sat listening to some Doo-wop, played several of Frankie Lymon and the Teenagers. I've now, since seeing Buddy the Musical, discovered more Buddy Holly songs I love, I'd never heard 'Brown Eyed Handsome Man' and now I'm addicted to it, brilliant song. Then I'll have times when I want something a bit 'different' so I'll sit listening to Jonsi or maybe a bit of Riverdance, maybe Loreena McKennitt. Other times I just like to hear nicely played guitar or piano, someone who really plays it well. I've grown more appreicative of music lately, it helps to calm me, show my mood, let me decompress. We all need to sit back and chill occasionally and whether you're into pop, jazz, country, classical, rock n roll, heavy metal, drum and bass or whatever you're into, it help to make you chill out and go into your own zone, its almost like therapy.

I wonder what the coming months will have in store, will I get any free time to do anything I want to do? Will the kids continue to do well? Will I stop waffling on about stuff that's unimportant, will I stop stressing about the small stuff? Whatever happens in the near future, I aim to handle it with as much dignity and grace as I can muster, whatever the situation (however good, bad, embarrassing or dire) and hopefully learn from it. If you must make mistakes, learn from them, don't do your utmost to repeat them. Live for today and don't go to bed angry, remember to tell the people you love that you do love them. And hugs, so important, and free too.

Come on life, bring it on, but please be kind :o)

Britians Got Talent 2010: my views on it all!

So, another year of 'Britains Got Talent' has drawn to a close and a winner has been chosen by the nation. To answer the question of: 'Does Britain have talent'? I think there is a good answer, there is a lot of talented people out there, but there are also some that are holding onto a dream that may never come true in the way they hope. Everyone has a talent, whether its something they can perform, something they can create or share. It's more a matter of finding your strength and building that strength to be something to be proud of sharing. I do feel sorry for the people who believe they can do something but, sadly, fail dismally in the thing they believe they can do. My advice to them would be to find another 'channel' for them to hone in on.

This years talent, on the show, was brilliant, the final was fantastic and really showcased how talented some people are out there. My favourites that I wish had got to the final, but didn't, were 'The Arrangement', Stevie Starr (aka: The Regurgitator) and Neil Fullard (The Singing Bouncer). I do hope they reappear on the television sometime, or at least get some good luck in their futures from their appearances.

I have no doubt that Christopher Stone will either get a record contract or be on the stage in a musical as a leading man, somewhere in the future!! Amazing voice and thought he was brilliant.

Spelbound were amazing and do deserve to win, I also hope they get to be in the 2012 Olympics opening ceremony for London, they could really make a good impression for the UK.

I really wish Tobias Mead had got higher in the vote, he was EXCELLENT and I sincerely hope that he has lots of luck with his career, he definately deserves it. His creativity and dancing is mind-blowing and I'd love to see him dancing live.

Paul Burling!! Amazing, hope he does get to do some more TV work, even his own show, he deserves it, amazing fun and brilliantly creative mind to come up with his impression routines.

Twist and Pulse, absolutely BRILLIANT and so funny!! Loved their routines and thought their personalities definately shone through. Hope to see more of them in the future too.

As for some of the younger contestants, this year, hey, they have plenty of time, I hope they don't get exploited and they still have a childhood, now, rather than look back in years time and wish they hadn't got the 'fame and fortune' back then and how they feel they have missed out.

I really hope someone in the 'TV world' can bring some of these talents together in a regular capacity. Why don't we have a 'regular' variety show every week/fortnight/month? We used to, when I was growing up!! Someone out there in TV Production, please, get something together and get some well loved acts and some of these new acts together on one stage, I believe it's a money spinner and would get watched!

To all the contestants, well done, you deserve what recognition and luck comes your way, you're an inspiration to a lot of people and have left many of us in awe of your talents. Lets hope next year will be as good if not better!!