A blog of reviews, writing advice, and suggestions on how the TV shows should have done it.
Pages
▼
Thursday, 25 June 2015
Thursday, 18 June 2015
Jurassic World Stomping To Life
As of yesterday, I have watched Jurassic World twice, so I figured I should probably write a review for it, because my GOD is it good!
Jurassic World is the fourth film in the Jurassic Park franchise, and has been a long time in the making. Originally, a fourth film was supposed to be made in 2004, but was scrapped for many reasons, but following the sad death of Richard Attenborough, the actor who played park owner John Hammond, Jurassic World was commissioned in his honour. Fans of the original three films have been hesitant to see what this film could bring to the franchise, scared it would be a giant flop that wrecked the magic of the trilogy.
Let me tell you, they have nothing to fear. Jurassic World is possibly the best film of the franchise, and not just because of the new special effects. The story line is better, the dinosaurs are better, it's like everything got stepped up a notch and got kicked into hyper drive, creating the incredible film that is Jurassic World.
So what exactly happens in this film? Is it the same as the previous three? Dinosaurs get loose, people get eaten, hero saves the day? Well, yes, but what else is Jurassic Park for? The dinosaurs aren't going to win, the film also isn't going to be a family visiting to the park, having a lovely time without a single hitch. These films are about the park failing, people getting eaten in gory ways and well, cool dinosaurs. The franchise has never strayed from that, and I doubt it ever will, it's what it does best, and it's what people love.
Yet, even though it's a similar story line to the first three, this one is different. Things such as the fact that the park is working at the beginning of the film, has been since 2005, and business is booming. Thousands of people flock to Jurassic World every day to see the dinosaurs, and nothing has gone wrong yet.
Until the scientists make a bigger, scarier dinosaur to keep the people coming in. They've created the Indomonous Rex (if that's how you spell it, let's just say it's scary in 3d and 2d) a dinosaur bigger than a T-Rex, created specifically to be bigger, scarier and to 'have more teeth.' And what happens when it's eight weeks away from being revealed to the public? It gets loose, breaks out of it's cage and causes havoc! People are eaten, dinosaurs are killed, yet more dinosaurs are set loose to try and take this thing down. Nothing is taking it down, and it's up to Owen (Chris Pratt) to save the park and figure out how to stop this monster from destroying everything.
Now I can't tell you much about how they stop the rampage, who lives or who dies, what other beasties come into play (you can probably guess though, it's Jurassic Park we're on about) but I can say this: the final showdown is incredible. The dinosaur attacks are fantastic. And overall this film is just plain amazing. I loved every single second. I laughed, I cheered, I nearly hid behind my best friend in fear in several places. Jurassic World doesn't pull it's punches, it's a thrill ride from the first second, without straying too far from the original trilogy.
References to it's predecessors are peppered throughout, some of the old tropes are back (as in, children screaming, everyone gets covered in mud etc) without making the film feel like a throwback. This is without a doubt a homage to the original trilogy, but doesn't seem like it's trying too hard to recapture the magic, it just does it effortlessly.
From beginning to end, this film grips you and takes you on a thrill ride that only Jurassic Park can do, while making you fall in love with dinosaurs all over again. I've seen it twice now, and I can't wait to own the DVD to watch repeatedly in the comfort of my own home,
If you get the chance, go and watch Jurassic World, it is without a doubt one of the best films coming out this year. And don't forget, if you see a dinosaur, run.
Jurassic World is the fourth film in the Jurassic Park franchise, and has been a long time in the making. Originally, a fourth film was supposed to be made in 2004, but was scrapped for many reasons, but following the sad death of Richard Attenborough, the actor who played park owner John Hammond, Jurassic World was commissioned in his honour. Fans of the original three films have been hesitant to see what this film could bring to the franchise, scared it would be a giant flop that wrecked the magic of the trilogy.
Let me tell you, they have nothing to fear. Jurassic World is possibly the best film of the franchise, and not just because of the new special effects. The story line is better, the dinosaurs are better, it's like everything got stepped up a notch and got kicked into hyper drive, creating the incredible film that is Jurassic World.
So what exactly happens in this film? Is it the same as the previous three? Dinosaurs get loose, people get eaten, hero saves the day? Well, yes, but what else is Jurassic Park for? The dinosaurs aren't going to win, the film also isn't going to be a family visiting to the park, having a lovely time without a single hitch. These films are about the park failing, people getting eaten in gory ways and well, cool dinosaurs. The franchise has never strayed from that, and I doubt it ever will, it's what it does best, and it's what people love.
Yet, even though it's a similar story line to the first three, this one is different. Things such as the fact that the park is working at the beginning of the film, has been since 2005, and business is booming. Thousands of people flock to Jurassic World every day to see the dinosaurs, and nothing has gone wrong yet.
Until the scientists make a bigger, scarier dinosaur to keep the people coming in. They've created the Indomonous Rex (if that's how you spell it, let's just say it's scary in 3d and 2d) a dinosaur bigger than a T-Rex, created specifically to be bigger, scarier and to 'have more teeth.' And what happens when it's eight weeks away from being revealed to the public? It gets loose, breaks out of it's cage and causes havoc! People are eaten, dinosaurs are killed, yet more dinosaurs are set loose to try and take this thing down. Nothing is taking it down, and it's up to Owen (Chris Pratt) to save the park and figure out how to stop this monster from destroying everything.
Now I can't tell you much about how they stop the rampage, who lives or who dies, what other beasties come into play (you can probably guess though, it's Jurassic Park we're on about) but I can say this: the final showdown is incredible. The dinosaur attacks are fantastic. And overall this film is just plain amazing. I loved every single second. I laughed, I cheered, I nearly hid behind my best friend in fear in several places. Jurassic World doesn't pull it's punches, it's a thrill ride from the first second, without straying too far from the original trilogy.
References to it's predecessors are peppered throughout, some of the old tropes are back (as in, children screaming, everyone gets covered in mud etc) without making the film feel like a throwback. This is without a doubt a homage to the original trilogy, but doesn't seem like it's trying too hard to recapture the magic, it just does it effortlessly.
From beginning to end, this film grips you and takes you on a thrill ride that only Jurassic Park can do, while making you fall in love with dinosaurs all over again. I've seen it twice now, and I can't wait to own the DVD to watch repeatedly in the comfort of my own home,
If you get the chance, go and watch Jurassic World, it is without a doubt one of the best films coming out this year. And don't forget, if you see a dinosaur, run.
Wednesday, 10 June 2015
RIP The Works
Not a writing tip or review, but a mourning of a good book shop instead.
Some of you may have heard, but The Works bookshop was hit with an arson attack in Maidstone recently, in the hour before another 5 cars were also set alight. The cars survived mostly and the owners are on their way to replacing their vehicles.
But The Works, oh The Works is wrecked. There is nothing left of the shop, I've seen it for myself, just a few hours ago. All that is left of the book shop is the charred shell, reminding me far too much of the Baudelaire Mansion from A Series Of Unfortunate Events. Shops on either side of the building have also lost their roofs, leaving most of the street cordoned off for safety of the public.
Luckily nobody was hurt in this terrible attack, apart from all the book fan's hearts. Everybody loves a cheap book, and that was The Works for us, good quality, first hand, cheap books. It's probably the single biggest threat to my best friend and my Mum's bank balance, with many trips in there ending up with a new bag filled with new stories to explore.
But now we have been robbed of that, because someone decided that they wanted to set the place alight and burn it down. Countless precious books have been lost, Harry Potter, Hunger Games, Sherlock Holmes, hundreds of other classics, have been destroyed by fire. This has then subsequently robbed many of the chance to buy and then read these books at a lower price to normal. Sure, we still have a Waterstones, WH Smith and Amazon to order from, but there's nowhere for those of us on a tight budget to shop. And that is a tragedy.
Not everyone can afford to buy full price books, and book lovers like myself relied on The Works to give ourselves books are a discounted rate. Sometimes places like Waterstones proved too expensive when buying an entire series of books, whereas The Works provided the same series in the same great condition for a fraction of the cost. That was a Godsend to us, it meant we could buy our books and not break the bank as much as a shop at another retailer would have.
The shop also proved useful when buying books for our education too. Not all of them (I can't say I found any of my uni course books in there) but I did find many of my A Level books in there. There was no wait time or P&P costs from Amazon, and they were generally cheaper there than at any other book store, which was useful as a 16 year old.
Book lovers aren't the only ones affected either, artists who bought their supplies at The Works now have look elsewhere, others looking for notepads and school supplies have to trek somewhere else to buy them. The people who worked in the shop are now out of a job, all because someone felt the need to set something on fire. What I'm trying to say is that the shop was a life line for many, and now it's gone for a long time.
And for what? Entertainment? A sick need to see flames? What was the point?
There wasn't one, now people have lost their jobs, others have lost a shop filled with their passions, and a building has been destroyed. It's going to take years to get that back to normal, and it's because someone likes to light things on fire. The only positive in this situation is that nobody was physically hurt in the blaze. Instead we've lost a big part of our lives.
So to whoever did this, fuck you, if you like fire so much, get your kicks by lighting candles and fireplaces. Stay away from buildings and places of enjoyment for so many, you've robbed so many from their cheap book and art outlet, and took away several people's jobs.
Some of you may have heard, but The Works bookshop was hit with an arson attack in Maidstone recently, in the hour before another 5 cars were also set alight. The cars survived mostly and the owners are on their way to replacing their vehicles.
But The Works, oh The Works is wrecked. There is nothing left of the shop, I've seen it for myself, just a few hours ago. All that is left of the book shop is the charred shell, reminding me far too much of the Baudelaire Mansion from A Series Of Unfortunate Events. Shops on either side of the building have also lost their roofs, leaving most of the street cordoned off for safety of the public.
Luckily nobody was hurt in this terrible attack, apart from all the book fan's hearts. Everybody loves a cheap book, and that was The Works for us, good quality, first hand, cheap books. It's probably the single biggest threat to my best friend and my Mum's bank balance, with many trips in there ending up with a new bag filled with new stories to explore.
But now we have been robbed of that, because someone decided that they wanted to set the place alight and burn it down. Countless precious books have been lost, Harry Potter, Hunger Games, Sherlock Holmes, hundreds of other classics, have been destroyed by fire. This has then subsequently robbed many of the chance to buy and then read these books at a lower price to normal. Sure, we still have a Waterstones, WH Smith and Amazon to order from, but there's nowhere for those of us on a tight budget to shop. And that is a tragedy.
Not everyone can afford to buy full price books, and book lovers like myself relied on The Works to give ourselves books are a discounted rate. Sometimes places like Waterstones proved too expensive when buying an entire series of books, whereas The Works provided the same series in the same great condition for a fraction of the cost. That was a Godsend to us, it meant we could buy our books and not break the bank as much as a shop at another retailer would have.
The shop also proved useful when buying books for our education too. Not all of them (I can't say I found any of my uni course books in there) but I did find many of my A Level books in there. There was no wait time or P&P costs from Amazon, and they were generally cheaper there than at any other book store, which was useful as a 16 year old.
Book lovers aren't the only ones affected either, artists who bought their supplies at The Works now have look elsewhere, others looking for notepads and school supplies have to trek somewhere else to buy them. The people who worked in the shop are now out of a job, all because someone felt the need to set something on fire. What I'm trying to say is that the shop was a life line for many, and now it's gone for a long time.
And for what? Entertainment? A sick need to see flames? What was the point?
There wasn't one, now people have lost their jobs, others have lost a shop filled with their passions, and a building has been destroyed. It's going to take years to get that back to normal, and it's because someone likes to light things on fire. The only positive in this situation is that nobody was physically hurt in the blaze. Instead we've lost a big part of our lives.
So to whoever did this, fuck you, if you like fire so much, get your kicks by lighting candles and fireplaces. Stay away from buildings and places of enjoyment for so many, you've robbed so many from their cheap book and art outlet, and took away several people's jobs.
Tuesday, 9 June 2015
Tuesday, 2 June 2015
The Liebster Award
I'm horribly late doing this, but Cameron didn't tell me he'd tagged me in this until yesterday!
Thanks to him for tagging me in this, and here we go:
Thanks to him for tagging me in this, and here we go:
- What’s your favourite movie/tv series?
- Are you sure you're ready for this answer? Currently I'm loving How To Get Away With Murder and Agents Of SHIELD, but my main ones have to be BBC Sherlock, Marvel, and Buffy The Vampire Slayer!
- Do you love reading? If yes, what is your favourite book?
- Hell yes! I'm always reading! Well currently I'm loving All I Know Now by Carrie Hope Fletcher, but the book I'm REALLY loving is Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell
- How would you describe yourself in 5 words?
- Writer, Vlogger, fangirl, tired and... nerdy
- Who’s your favourite band/artist?
- MCFLY! I adore McFly and McBusted! They got me into writing and I adore their music!
- If you could have 3 wishes, what would they be?
- To make a success book, to be able to own my own house, and to help people with their writing through my channel!
- If you could have a superpower, what would it be?
- Ohhhh, superspeed I think! It would save me a tonne of money in travel costs, and help me to not be late all the time!
- What’s your all-time favourite food?
- Toad in the hole (I'm eating some now) or Chinese chicken balls, I could live on either!
- Where’s your favourite place to shop?
- Anywhere that sells geeky things, like redbubble, amazon, geektown, anywhere like that!
- What’s your favourite colour?
- Black!
- What is your future plan?
- See above wishes, with added moving in with my best friend and making our super awesome house! :)
- Who do you admire most?
- Joss Whedon for writing, McFly for general life strength, Carrie Hope Fletcher for general life strength again, Benedict Cumberbatch for again life strength, the list goes on!