Movie Review: Into the Woods

'Into the Woods'… how do I describe thee? I really don’t know. I had every intention of coming on here and posting an intelligent, articulated masterpiece of a review, thoroughly deconstructing every piece of the movies and putting back together for your reading pleasure. Well, that was before. This is now. And now is the time when I have seen the movie and that starry-eyed innocence is gone.

This is a weird one guys, I’m not going to lie. I had a bit of an idea what I thought the movie might be about. Now, I haven’t seen the musical or even read anything about, so it’s safe to say my idea of what the movie might be wasn’t really what it was at all.

There’s a lot to keep track of in the movie. It’s a collision of Cinderella, Red Riding Hood, Jack and the Beanstalk, Rapunzel into the story of a baker and his wife who are trying to have a baby. Of course, being a Disney movie, there is a witch at the centre of it all causing trouble. It feels pretty disjointed for the most part. And despite there being so many storylines to follow, there is definitely a fair bit of drag. Then, at the same time, the first conflict in the movie seems to be solved in a kind of rushed way. After that, the second conflict seemed to drag again. Although, if it had been made a little more interesting and wasn’t trying to cram so many stories into two and a half hours maybe it would have flowed a little better. To be honest I don’t think I could have stood anymore of the movie.

What I will say is that I enjoyed the performances of actors such as Meryl Streep and Johnny Depp. Also, did anyone else know that Emily Blunt could sing like that? 

I feel like I don’t want to say that this was awful and recommend that people stay away, but I can’t honestly say I liked it all that much either. I don’t know guys. I think this one is a movie everybody should make their own mind up about, because I sure as hell can’t give you a straight answer on whether I would recommend it or not. I will say that, as a Disney movie buff this is far from my favourites list. Did anyone else feel as confused as me about their feelings for the movie? Did anyone straight up hate or love it? I’d love to hear some comments :)

Book Review: Not That Kind Of Girl by Lena Dunham

So, I finally finished this book. It took me ages, mostly I think because I didn’t want it to end. I wanted to remain in the world of Lena Dunham for much longer than the pages of the book would allow. The book is basically a collection of essays, each very different but just as quirky as the next. I’ve already done a post about Lena Dunham and how much I love her, so I won’t gush again. I really just want to focus on the book for this post.

Like I mentioned before, the book is pretty much a collection of essays. There isn’t a set flow to them, such as chronological order, but for the most part I didn’t feel like it was too disjointed while reading it. I will say that this book isn’t for someone looking to read a straight up autobiography or memoir. I found the times when I felt a little discombobulated were when I probably wasn’t paying as much attention to the book.  

Some of the stories may be a little confronting for some people, particularly some of the sexual ones, but I didn’t really have a problem with it. Anyone who has seen her TV show ‘Girls’ knows how explicit and honest she is. In fact, there are a few stories that you might recognise as being storylines or scenes in the show. The fact that she is able to be so very candid and real about her experiences is the main reason I loved this book. She doesn’t sugar-coat or glamorize her life. In fact, she can be a little self-deprecating. Personally I don’t think it’s so much that she comes across as being secretly up herself. She’s very honest about being quite self-centred (which is not as awful as it may sound).

All-in-all I don’t think this book will be everybody’s cup of tea. I’ve heard some negative comments about it and some of the stories that I personally don’t agree with, but others obviously take different things away from her stories than I do. If you’re up for a quirky journey through Lena’s mind and memories and have an open mind I would definitely recommend this book to you (if you haven’t already read it yet). If you prefer memoirs and autobiographies that follow a certain structure and prefer less… shall we say ‘personal’ or ‘graphic’ content from the people you admire and want to learn about, then possibly this isn’t the book for you. This book is mostly funny, sometimes serious and always real. I absolutely loved it and would read it again (once I finish my plethora of other books I have waiting to be read)!

Christmas Haul Part 1.2: Christmas Presents

Okay, so this post contains my thoughts on the final lot of presents I got this Christmas. As I said in my last post, I am so very lucky to have been given all of this stuff. A lot of thought went into each and every present and I appreciate every single one of them and the family and friends who gave them to me! 

Steampunk Belle Print:

Can we just… ugh! I can’t even describe my giddy little girl joy when I opened this very extra special present from my gorgeous bestie. This is created by a local (Brisbane) artist. It’s absolutely beautifully done and every time I look at it on my wall I smile. I’m an intense Disney fan and Beauty and the Beast is my all-time favourite movie. I just love this picture and can’t get over what an amazing choice my bestie made in getting me this!

Southern Vampire Mysteries Books:

My wonderful tutoring clients got me a couple of the Southern Vampire Mysteries books. I know, I know, I am so late to the party with these, but oh well. I got the sixth and thirteenth books and already had books one to three. I haven’t really started the series yet since I’m on a bit of a biography kick at the moment (reviews to come), but I can’t wait to get stuck into the series.

The Big Bang Theory Clue Boardgame:

This was a gift from my cousin who is my kindred nerd spirit. He, my sis and I all love boardgames and having boardgame nights, so this was a perfect gift. We’ve played it a few times since Christmas and it’s a lot of fun. I think I like it better than the original Cluedo (Clue in America).

Gift Cards and Money:

I got a few different gift cards to different places and some money for the Boxing Day sales from various family members. I know a lot of people think that these kinds of gifts are impersonal, but not for anyone who knows me. Anyone who knows me knows that I love picking out my own things (it’s possibly a control thing) and that is something that is just as special to me as getting an ‘actual’ gift. Besides, without these presents of money and gift cards, my trip to the Boxing Day sales would have been a hell of a lot less fun.

That was it for the Christmas present I received. The next instalment will be sharing what I picked up during the Boxing Day sales. I think that will be another two parter, because, if I'm being real, I bought A LOT of stuff (well for me anyway, it may not seem like a lot to other people).