Haunting words

- Jenny Mellor (An Education, 2009, Sony Pictures) Photo: Mine

Review: Actually very super

Picture: Paramount Pictures

I promised myself a while ago that I'd think twice before watching a sci-fi movie (after Knowing) or a movie with a bunch of kids in the lead (after Narnia 3). So what made me throw myself headfirst to go and watch Super 8? 3 reasons: 1. Elle Fanning. 2. J.J Abrams 3. Elle Fanning. (Not even joking)

Super 8 is set out in a small town in Ohio during the late 70's. When 13-year old Joe Lamb (Joel Courtney) loses his mother in an accident, he's left battling with the loss and the distant relationship with his police father. Thoughts of his mom were put on hold when his best friend Charles (Riley Griffiths), an amateur movie maker, asks beautiful Alice (Elle Fanning) to star in his latest project. While filming a scene for Charles' entry for a film festival, they witness a catastrophic train crash which releases an unknown creature. Not before long strange things starts to happen in the city.

What I love most about Super 8, is it's story telling. I love the deliberate mystique around the creature, and that as the characters learn more about the creature the more we get to see more of it. The cast is just as brilliant, you know I'm a sucker for brilliant child actors (man, I'm in that age this kind of sentences can be taken wrong), even AJ Michalka was watchable.

I truly enjoyed the movie, I laughed, I cried and I screamed. You know, just as much as I love to be the only person in the cinema screaming out loud I was genuinely, as my friend would say, shitting bricks.

Tiffany strongly recommends.

Toodles.

A long lost friend

Long time no see, my 6 stringed friend! And yes, I haven't gotten any better I'm afraid. Here's my attempt to cover Jonas Brothers' Make It Right.

Toodles,

Tiffany

101 Pet peeves

A while ago I started #101petpeeves on my Twitter where I list things I find really annoying and/or hard to stand. RELAX I'm not actually going to come up with 101 things, but here goes a few (including those on my Twitter). The order doesn't classify their degree of annoyance.

• People who write 'lol': Firstly, there ought to be at least one capital letter in there since it's an abbreviation of laughing out loud. Secondly, you're not really laughing out loud so don't write it (in abbreviated or any form). Thirdly, simply writing lol makes whatever you say before or after 10 times less intelligent. What's wrong with writing haha? (Then again I write XD a lot, which is almost just as bad)
• People who 'likes' things on Facebook: Especially people who like statuses. Even though it's a great ego boost when people 'like' your status, you know they don't really like what you're saying/doing. It's more like they want to acknowledge your status, whether it's "I just had a steak" or "Ryan Gigg is an [insert degrading noun of your choice]". What's the point? People who 'like' everything on their newsfeed should be banned.
• Incorrect use of it's an its: Actually any grammatical error make my eyes hurt. This may be my production editor days talking but they really do annoy the heck out of me. (I know, I know, I make them too)
• Tourists: Sorry, but 2 years of living in London genuinly justifies this. I just can't stand their 10x10 metres foldout maps, their "comfortable" shoes, their slow motion walking pace in the underground and the lists goes on. Most of all I can't stand their general noob-ness. Let me just put it out there that I strongly dislike tourists on the tube, but above all; Spanish tourists in the tube.
• The ending sequence at news programmes: I always feel so awkward for the broadcaster when he awkwardly fixes his notes or pretending to fix something on the laptop at the very end of the programme. It's even worse when there are two of them, and they have to pretend to talk to each other or awkwardly stare at each other. Once it was actually so bad I had to make myself not watch the TV screen. (OCD much?)
• Interviewers asking stupid and/or obvious questions: (Oh dear, the Oscars are full of them.) I hate standardised questions (questions that have been asked 1000s times already) and I hate questions that have obvious answers -"When you started doing this film, did you ever think it would become this massive?" Well obviously! Even if he/she actually thought so he's not going to tell you is he?! Or just really awkward questions - "Why don't you like hugs?"
• Pictures of oneself/girlfriend/children as cellphone background picture: I get that you obviously love whoever person on the picture but you seriously don't need to see that person's face everytime you do something on your phone. It's awful and it's tacky.

Love,
Tiffany

Review: Kill the pig! Spill its' blood!

Photo: Open Air Theatre

A bunch of screaming 14 year-old boys running around in their underwear, isn't something you would typically pay 30 quid to see. But when it's for a new adaption of Lord of the Flies, it's certainly worth it.

Directed by Timothy Sheader's, this stage adaption of Lord of the Flies is not only impeccably choreographed but also visually stunning.

Based on William Golding's novel from 1954, Lord of the Flies tells the tale of a group of young boys stranded on a deserted island after their plane was shot down. They soon conspire to survive and how to get rescued. With conflicting views on what's the best way to act, the boys soon find themselves in two competing teams. The story gives a frightful insight into human nature at its most primary.

Cleverly staged at Regents Park Open Air theatre, the nature together with the life size broken down plane gives the play an authentic set and ambiance (even the socks hanging from the trees are brilliant). It's in fact so engaging that 40 minutes into the show, one was tempted to jump up and down and join the boys in shouting: "Kill the pig! Spill its' blood!"
The appreciation of the natural surroundings however gradually fades away as the cold of London evenings grows more and more vivid. The audience neither felt any warmer from seeing the cast run around practically naked during the entire second (bless those boys).

Besides the marvelous stage set, the storytelling and choreography is equally as impressive. The use of well choreographed slow motion and standstill (the latter to tell the two team's stories simultaneously), gives the storytelling a twist and, not to mention, a joy to watch. All of which balances out the mediocre acting from the teenage actors.

However the question of time and historical correctness still remains. While the dialogue is neatly modernised, the laptop on the beach and talk of "the war" leaves us wondering whether the show's a modern take on World War II, referencing to Afghanistan/Iran, or if the laptop was simply misplaced.

Lord of the Flies (2010) Nigel Williams, Open Air Theatre, London
(Performance: 07/06/11)

Tiffany

The first rant of the summer

I know I know. I've been back home for 4 days and still haven't found "time" to blog. I'm just that good of a blogger.

Being home is good. Sweden is surprisingly warm which is amazing. I've been eating loads, in this pace I'd gain 20 kg by the end of the summer (so I need to watch it). Met a friend on Saturday talked for 9 hours -not kidding. I've also been driving again. After a whole year away from the wheel it was quite scary going back (forgetting which pedal is which is not really ideal). But after a 2 hour drive with my dad today it all came back and I even drove all the way from Fosie industri område back to our place (which includes 1 trafficlight and 3 roundabouts). It's sad but I'm actually boasting.

But of course everything hasn't been smooth sailing, because that wouldn't be my life. It comes as a no surprise that it's a Uni related. Yesterday evening, I got an email from my Undergraduate office, saying I had to retake an exam since I missed it. Immediate readtion: W H A T  T H E  F * C K! Wasn't it awful enough having forced me to sit through that horrible exam? Now they're saying I didn't take it?!

At this stage, I thought my Uni couldn't surprise me anymore (really they've done practically everything I thought a University shouldn't do), but obviously I was wrong. How could I show them my attendence slip when it's in London? How can I show them anything when I'm in Sweden for that matter? Will I have to take a resit exam? Will I have to fly back to London to sort it out? Imagine those thoughts plus loads of other about the awesome administration at my Uni, running through my brain 1000 miles/sec. I emailed them back, struggling to refrain from writing the f-word and called them in the morning. Apparently, it was an automatic email sent out to some students and I quote "doesn't apply to you". Well then why did you f*cking send it to me in the first place?!

I don't know when my uni will stop giving me unnecessary heartattacks, but I guess I just have to be prepared for whatever whenever.

Sincerely,
Tiffany

That Oxford

Good night y'all.
Having a really bad pain in my feet from a day of walking in Oxford. Yup, quite spontaneously me and 2 friends decided we're gonna take the bus to Oxford, that Oxford with the university and stuffs (is there another one?). So off in the early morning we go and an hour later we're in the cutest and one of the most architectural stunning city I've been to.

I absolutely despise doing touristy stuff (and walking around with my elephant to a camera around my arm didn't help) but it was quite alright because...I was actually a tourist. Loads of beautiful buildings, loads more colleges and universities (so many Harry Potter references so little time) and loads of cute small shops. Imagine my jumping-up-and-down excitement walking into the Alice in Wonderland shop. It was heaven! (Then the £2 bookshop wasn't that bad either...)

Let me just tell you, I've never been to Oxford and I don't know anyone in Oxford, but when I went to Oxford for the first time I indeed met someone I knew (and I don't know ANYBODY)! Apparently this girl I used to intern with lives 15 minutes from Oxford and just happened to be walking around the Chirstchurch university at the same day, at the same time as I was there. Now this is what needs to happen with me and Andrew Garfield in London (.....).

So I'm gonna leave you with 4 out of the 114 photos I took today. Cheerio.