The film starts in the countryside, everyone is speaking English and Willy (played by Dominic West) visits Colette (Keira Knightley) and her parents. Everything is prim and proper, tricking the audience into preparing for dry period drama, not unlike some of Knightley’s previous films. However, this is quickly overturned after Colette leaves to go for a ‘country walk’. Instead, winding up in a barn with Willy as he proves that he is the opposite of the proper gentleman that we were first led to believe.

At the start of the film, Colette seems a traditional 19th-century country girl who answers to her husband and she is frustratingly content to help him achieve success with her work, knowing that women simply weren’t able to be such literary talents under their own name. However, the film ends with her breaking away from the societal expectations of a wife and becoming an artistic identity of her own.

Knowing that the film is based on a true story is even more exciting as it shatters the memory of a world where women predominantly were housewives. Each of the film’s episodes – shown by date and place briefly stated on the screen – shows a more empowered Colette, moving from a child to a chic and sophisticated society women comfortable at the social events which at the start of the film had her talking to a tortoise rather than the people her husband mixed with.

Sex and scandal prevailed throughout. Even when locking Colette in a room so she’d write Willy’s conversation drips with innuendo as he talks about how a headmaster would punish her if she did not do her work. Wash Westmoreland did a fabulous job of dramatising a film which essentially could have been a lot of sitting and writing.

A sequel to 2000’s Unbreakable and 2017’s Split, Glass is set mainly in a sanatorium where Dr Staple (Sarah Paulson) has taken three individuals with abnormal powers and tries to persuade them that although they think that they are superhuman in reality they just have brain defects and are delusional.

Admittedly I’m probably not the best critic of this film, as I have only seen Split out of the two films that are said to precede it. However I am in awe again of James McAvoy’s remarkable ability to play the many personas of Kevin Crumb. He is able to switch from the innocent 9 year old Hedwig to the sophisticated Patricia with unnerving ease, as to the 20 other personalities of The Horde, as well as The Beast who has superhuman strength.

I enjoyed the film for the fabulous acing, however some of the superfluous plot twists ruined parts for me:

• For a start the fact that the Doctor only had 3 days to convince them that they weren’t superhuman. It seemed strange to give a timeline to such a mission.
• The lack of guards as a maximum security psychiatric hospital – having one man on the nightshift seemed absurd.
• The sudden introduction at the end of the film of the secret evil gang who were trying to kill all the superheroes. It seemed like a massive stretch and begs the question about a sequel. Will it just be set in a new city with new superheroes? I don’t know how it could work. They all have matching clover tattoos on their wrist which is surely generic, overdone.
• The scene where the doctor announces to her secret crew that she has killed the three men. They are all sat in a café with glasses of wine waiting for one group of people to leave before she makes her announcement. I would’ve thought that they would have had the resources to book a private meeting place.
• The exaggerated reactions of the public in the train station as the videos of the men at the hospital are shared. Strangers open mouthed and showing each other their phones was almost like pantomime acting.

The film had a budget of $20 million and you can see this I think. There is no real change in location further than the hospital and the car park. However what brings the film up a level is the quality of the actors in the three main roles. James McAvoy, Bruce Willis and Samuel L. Jackson are superb. I only wish that I could say so much about the plot. The line between superhero and villain was too blurred for a cohesive narrative.

My trip to Dublin, January 2019

If I was Bradley Cooper and my directing debut was A Star is Born I would feel so accomplished. The film is incredible. I can’t remember the last time I had goosebumps in the cinema but this film kept me hooked.

It starts with a Bradley Coopers character (an successful, alcoholic rock star, Jackson Maine) mistakenly falling into a drag bar in search of a drink, where he finds Ally (Lady Gaga) singing La Vie en Rose.

What follows is her rise to fame as she first sings with Jackson and eventually overtakes his success as he is falling into a spiral of drugs and alcohol more than ever which is worse than ever. She then supposedly sells up and ends up listening to her manager and becoming a more commercial sound to the dismay of Jackson. This then furthers his attempt to find solace in drink and drugs and at the end of the film he kills himself which leads Ally to perform a song that he wrote in her original style.

What I loved about the film was its complex filmography that made the story so simple and pure. There were so many close up shots where every emotion of the protagonists was so beautifully captured.  The amount of scenes which were shot showing Gaga’s side profile was fitting because of Ally’s hangup about her nose which the character says is the reason she had never got a break in the industry.

The way that Lady Gaga predominantly went make up free as Ally except for the sections in which she had been commercialised, Gaga herself said that wearing no make up for the filming helped her in her characterisation of Ally because she is naturally insecure and being without makeup to hide her true features she is self conscious which was ideal for portraying Ally’s doubt in her appearance and lack of self confidence.

The film’s soundtrack is astounding. Gaga’s vocals gave me chills. I’ve not been able to get Shallow out of my head since watching the film. Choosing such a talented pop star to play Ally was a clever choice, that made the film so amazing for me.

The most poignant scene for me was Jackson’s suicide scene. The way it was filmed was seriously heartbreaking. We are left with a shot of the garage where you can see Coopers middle through the window lifeless. The dog that the two of them loved is sat outside the garage waiting faithfully just like Ally described him “waiting for daddy to come home” when he was in rehab.

A Star is Born is a huge success and easily my favourite film of 2018 so far.

Bonfire Night this year looked the best up at Storthes Hall. We decided to have a hockey social going up to the bonfire and fireworks, with homemade toffee apples.

 

Pan Asia Street Food

Having wanted to go to this new Chinese restaurant since it opened earlier this year, finally we found the time, when one of my lectures finished early on a Friday lunchtime.

Opening  a Chinese in Huddersfield where we already have over 20 is a risky business but I really think Pan Asia Food has done it very well.

There was only one table left downstairs in the corner by the window and we were shown to our seats by a lovely lady who brought us the Jasmine tea we ordered in record breaking time in glass mugs which were charming, although they wouldn’t last long at home.

Our eyes being bigger than our stomachs as usual, I ordered a Prawn Katsu Curry, Jordan ordered Tempura Prawns, and Salt and Pepper Chips, we then ordered a Salmon Teriyaki Bento Board to share.

Honestly I can safely say that it was the best Chinese food I’ve had in Huddersfield in the 3 years that I have lived here! Not only that, it was served to us about 15 minutes after we had ordered which was perfect as people who know me know I am very impatient when it comes to waiting for food.

My curry was similar in its appearance to the same dish at Wagamamas, however it was immensely superior in taste, the prawns were crispy and succulent, the rice was fragrant and sticky, the sauce was gorgeous with a hint of ginger that I’ve not had before in a katsu curry.

From the Bento Box, the Teriyaki Salmon was incredible. It fell apart in my mouth when I ate it. If my stomach had permitted it i could have ate Jordan’s half as well. Amazingly, considering how much food we’d ordered, the bill only came to around £30.

Apart from the food the decor was perfect, subtle and chic, much like their website which is very easy to navigate and work with. We will definitely be returning to this restaurant in the near future.

https://www.pasf.co.uk/

 

 

The Northern Tea House

 

One of my favourite places to eat in Huddersfield. A whole manner of different teas as well as perfect lunch and brunch food.

Normally I take my family here when they visit, it’s a tranquil escape from a busy town centre. The inside of the cafe is a continuation of the logo with floral themed decoration. I was especially a fan of the Christmas tree print cushions. I’m a supporter of starting Christmas in October, hate me if you want.

I had a Matcha Latte with soya milk, matcha lattes are always a bit hit and miss, my mum likes to say that they sometimes come out tasting like grass.  From Nothern Tea House though they are amazing! The heart on the top makes for a great photo as well, even though Jordan got embarrassed at my ‘excessive photo taking’ so I stopped, and took photos of him instead.

The website for Northern Tea House is really helpful with a virtual tour and its so easy to use.

http://northernteahouse.co.uk

 

 

Epicure Bar and Kitchen

 

I’d wanted to check out Epicure for about a month but never seemed to go when it was open until finally I was invited by my friend Georgia on a Tuesday morning for brunch. However getting ready took too long and we only got there in time for lunch. This, however, turned out well.

One thing that I can comment on is the mug I was given for my pot of tea, it was a kind of metal travel mug which wasn’t as nice to drink from as a nice china mug would have been.  The tea was lovely though, so I can’t really complain.

It took me a while to choose what to eat as everything on the menu looked amazing and there was further choice given by the specials board, from which i eventually chose the Roasted Butternut Squash. Georgia chose soup and we shared sourdough with mixed dipping oils.

My meal was delicious, Epicure is held in high esteem and rightly so.  The roasted squash was topped with cooked tomatoes, toasted sunflower seeds, rocket and almond pesto. It was the best food I’d tasted for a long time and I’ll definitely be returning, hopefully next time in time for the Brunch menu.

A last point about Epicure is that their Instagram page is wonderful, but don’t look at it whilst you’re hungry because the photos are honestly mouth watering.

https://epicurebarandkitchen.co.uk

Instagram: @epicurebarandkitchen

A good soundtrack is essential for any film to succeed so the producers of Bohemian Rhapsody had a bit of a head start. To be completely honest, I didn’t know much about Queen. I know their songs of course, I think you’d struggle to find someone my age who doesn’t … I did drama at school and Bohemian Rhapsody was our classic anthem on all coach trips, much to the enjoyment of our teachers (sorry Miss Rayner and Mr Holroyd). This lack of prior knowledge of Freddie Mercury though did not take away from my love of this film, in fact I think it made me more amazed hearing his epic life for the first time through film, it was hard at times to remember that I was watching a biopic.

A problem that I do have with the film however is how Queen’s rise to fame is depicted, they seem to go from selling out student venues to huge stadiums with little work at all. The same with the song writing in the film, never really is there any hard graft the kind that all musicians have to go through if they want to get anywhere. However I didn’t dwell on this fact. I couldn’t I was too impressed by Rami Malek’s spectacular performance as Freddie Mercury. He perfectly encapsulated Mercury’s love and passion for performance, his confidence in his own talent that made him a legend long after his death.

I left the film feeling empowered and went home and played Queen on repeat whilst reading as much as I could about Freddie Mercury and the other band members. I think the film is going to cause a massive surge of people listening to the band and reliving their talent, which can only be a good thing.

 

When I say I love to travel there is a slight mistake, I don’t love to travel. I would love to have a teleportation device that landed me in exotic countries without the actual travelling part. Going from familiar Manchester to Bangkok airport with a stop off in Abu Dhabi was absolutely terrifying for me and I left my friends in Huddersfield absolutely convinced that I was never going to see them again. Having watched the Bridget Jones movies, I was fully conscious of the inevitability of me ending up in a Thai prison at some point during my stay.