The Viewing Files: Water, Water, Everywhere...

With a week of rain coming up it seems kind of appropriate then to do a post of water movies.  Or at least movies featuring water.  Lots and lots of water.

So put on your wadders and gumboots, grab a hot drink and some cake and sit back for a wet ride.

 

Titanic

Starring: That guy from Hart to Hart

Original release: 1953

Synopsis: Boat meet iceberg, Iceberg meet boat

 

Oh look it's Robert Wagner singing.

 

Still the special effects are pretty amazing even if they did get some of the facts wrong.

River of No Return

Starring: Robert Mitchum and Marilyn Monroe

Original release: 1954

Synopsis: A farmer walks into a saloon...

 

Marilyn in jeans and doing it rough. And even then she manages to look amazing.

 

An okay sort of movie even if Mitchum comes across as a bit of Alpha Male bully occasionally. Still the other leading man is so much worse. One of those movies where men are men and women better bloody well put up with it or live like a man.

Jaws

Starring: A ton of familiar faces

Original release: 1975

Synopsis: Don't go into the water...

 

Or Three Men and a Shark.

A really big shark.

They so should have brought a bigger boat.

Das Boot

Starring: Some Germans

Original release: 1981

Synopsis: Life in a tin can... under the sea

 

One of the best war movies ever made.

A Night to Remember

Starring: English people

Original release: 1958

Synopsis: That iceberg is back...

 

Less sap than the previous Titanic movie and no singing so that's plus right there.  The special effects are pretty great too.

Cocoon

Starring: A bunch of old people

Original release: 1985

Synopsis: Aliens and old people

 

Okay in its day but now just kind of long and boring.

The alien bits (which sadly were few and far between) were really the only bits for me that worked.  The rest was all kinds of meh.

The Abyss

Starring: Ed Harris

Original release: 1989

Synopsis: More Aliens... hopefully they are friendly

 

It's romance under the sea with Ed Harris saving the day and a bossy Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonino. Throw in a storm and some aliens that actually don't want to eat you for a change and you've got a not half bad movie even if it's a tad long.

The Perfect Storm

Starring: George Clooney and Mark Wahlberg

Original release: 2000

Synopsis: Sometimes you really should listen to the weather forecast

 

Makes the "Deadliest Catch" and other similar TV shows look like a walk in the park.

Riveting stuff.

The Shape of Water

Starring: No idea

Original release: 2017

Synopsis: A different kind of love story... one with a fish

 

The real story of Aquaman and it's not pretty.

Titanic

Starring: Kate and Leo

Original release: 1997

Synopsis: The Titanic movie

The movie that gave us a thousand memes and one of the most annoying songs in history.

Still the visuals are pretty spectacular.

July's Plans

Well the icy cold came as did the snow so it's been a month of hunkering down at home with just the occasional walk.  And since July will probably bring more cold and more snow the plans for the month are fairly low.

 

Oh well I can at least use the cold as an excuse to drink lots and lots of hot chocolate.  Always a plus.

Reading

 

Not much change since it's basically what I've been doing for the past few months.  On the plus side my To Be Read pile is still really small.  All this being organised and everything seems to be paying off.  The question now is can I keep it up?

Knitting

 

Less of a stop start project and more of a complete standstill so the plan for this month is to get stuck back in and finish it.  I'm going to try and spend at least an hour a day knitting.  Cross fingers that all goes well.

Watching

 

Letterboxd reviews are going like the clappers.  I've managed to post about 50 or more just in this past month.  

 

Now I've just got to make some time to watch at least one of the TV shows that are on my To Be Watched list.

Writing

 

Going slowly.  Which is at least something. 

A Day In The Life... All The Cake and A Solstice Too

And here we are another Solstice, another birthday, another day in the life of me.

 

So how did my day go...

8.30am

 

Awake and it's a foggy and chilly start to the day.  As you can see Nudge has arrived. Somehow I think he is trying to tell me something...

9.00am

 

Back in bed getting warm again after topping up Nudge's bowl and it's present opening time.  And look at the all the goodies I got.  Socks, jigsaws and a super soft cardigan... in pink no less.  My favourite colour.  And a book on sunflowers.  One of my favourite flowers. I'm feeling very spoilt.

 

And even more birthday jigsaws.  This time from Other Half.  I can't wait to get stuck into these.

10.00am

 

Finally.  The sun is out and it's looking like it's going to be a gorgeous day.

A gorgeous day calls for hamster socks.  So cute and so me.

11.00am

 

Back from a quick morning walk and it's time for a cuppa and a read.

12.30pm

 

A river in the middle of nowhere and we've stopped for a mug of tea from the thermos we've brought with us.  Just sitting and enjoying the sun and the view.

1.00pm

By the sea and another stop and some more sun.  This time we're snacking on some hot chips.  Yum.  And just the thing to keep us warm.

3.00pm

 

Back from our drive and it's time for cake.   And look how pretty it is. 

A few minutes later...

Sitting down with cake, hot chocolate and one of my favourite movies.  Just heavenly.

5.00pm... ish

A gorgeous sunset on a gorgeous day.  And the perfect ending to a solstice day.

Book Talk: I've Been Reading...

Winter.  Cold and wet.  Which of course means lots of reading and endless hot chocolate.  Not a bad way to spend the day when everything outside is gloomy and dull. 

So what have I been reading...

There's nothing more comforting that Chick lit reads.  Especially when accompanied by hot chocolate and cake... or maybe just the cake.  Either way they are my go to reads for all things light and fluffy.

 

I particularly loved Meet Me in the Margins and The Book Share, both of which are set in the world of books.  I mean really... what's not to love.  Just The Way You Are was also another fav read.  Perfect Chick lit reading all round.

From Chick lit to some quirky non fiction reads about a man who decides to celebrate some kind of National or International holiday every day.  Weird but funny and quirky which is so me.

Yep.  More Doctor Audio audios.  

 

As you can see I've been seriously working my way through all my audiobooks.

I love both of these series.  Very dark, very exciting, sometimes even spooky.  And such a great cast.  If you're a Doctor Who fan and like audios I seriously recommend checking these out.  So so good.

June's Plans

The 1st day of winter... and it's warm and sunny.  Which makes no sense what so ever.  Where's the icy cold, the frozen solid ground, the snow???  Somehow I feel just a little bit cheated.  Still on the plus side I've been doing lots of walking.  Lots and lots of walking.  Which I guess makes a nice change from all the gardening I'm generally doing.

As for the rest...

Reading

 

Going super well.  Which is good.  My To Be Read pile is down to just a handful of books.  Which is kind of amazing.  And even better I'm managing on the whole to keep it that way.

Of course my Waiting To Be Read pile is an out of control monster.  But as they are all books waiting to be published there's not much I can do about it except try and not add too many books that I want to read.  

 

We can live in hope.

Knitting

 

This is very much a stop and start project.  Even so I am slowly making progress.  Which is always a good thing. 

 

Now I just have to finish this vest so I can start my next project.

Watching

So many things to watch, so little time.

I am however slowly adding to my Letterboxd reviews and have plans to at least watch Bridgerton, Virgin River and A Discovery of Witches this winter.  I'm thinking I'm going to need a ton of hot chocolate and cake to see this through.

Writing

 

Always, always on the list.  This time round I'm planning on spending 1 day a week on doing some writing.  Even if it's just a few words.

Get Fit and Healthy

Lots of warmish weather means lots of walking.  Hopefully it's at least keeping me reasonably healthier.

 

I'm also making lots of homemade soup which has got to be good for me... I hope.

The Viewing Files: The 80s Edition... Again

The 80s'.  The era of sequels and good soundtrack music.  Or at the very least a good theme song...

Beverly Hills Cop

Starring: Eddie Murphy

Original release: 1984

Synopsis: An LA story with a touch of murder

 

It works.  And that's pretty much all you want or need from a non-serious action movie.

Beverly Hills Cop II

Starring: Yep it's him again

Original release: 1987

Synopsis: He's back

 

Slightly edgier than the 1st BHC which makes me like it just a little bit more.  Forget about Axel, Billy is my man.

Big Trouble in Little China

Starring: Kurt Russell

Original release: 1986

Synopsis: I've just experienced some very unreasonable things.

 

Another one of those B movies that is actually better than it should be.

 

Crazy and fun and all kinds of silly and totally worth watching.  You just know that everyone making this film was having a blast.

Crocodile Dundee

Starring: Some Aussie guy

Original release: 1986

Synopsis: Now that's the knife

 

An Aussie movie that pokes fun at itself and everything else.  It's a bit problematic in some parts but seen through an 80s lens it's a movie very much of its time.

Top Gun

Starring: Tom before he went all weird

Original release: 1986

Synopsis: I Feel the Need... The Need for Speed

 

Alpha men acting all macho and fooling nobody.  Probably would have worked better as a gay rom-com-actioner but luckily the bromance's and fighter plane scenes at least make it a half way decent movie.

Lethal Weapon

Starring: Danny and Mel

Original release: 1986

Synopsis: You Really Are Crazy

 

Filled with so many cliches.  And Riggs wild mullet hair was seriously distracting... and not in a good way.

Danny G and his family saved this movie for me.

Lethal Weapon 2

Starring: Same as before

Original release: 1989

Synopsis: Bad cop, good cop

 

Slightly better than the 1st due to sax and style and Sam the dog.  

 

I really could have done without Joe P being in this though.

Back to the Future

Starring: Michael J Fox

Original release: 1985

Synopsis: Are you telling me that you built a time machine... out of a DeLorean?

 

2 and a half stars for nostalgia reasons, Einstein the dog for having such a cool name, that opening sequence and Christopher Lloyd's mad scientist impersonation which he carried on doing for the rest of his career.

Field of Dreams

Starring: Kevin Costner

Original release: 1989

Synopsis: If you build it he will come

 

The beauty of hopes and dreams and the courage of stepping into the unknown.

I'm just having all the feels right now.

Book Talk: I've Been Reading...

Still reading.  Still adding to my ever increasing To Be Read pile.  I have though managed to delete a lot of books from this pile so that's something, even if said pile seems to inch up higher and higher bit by bit.

 

I really do need to stop looking at book websites.  Cue hysterical laughing because we all know that is never going to happen, no matter how much my good intentions might be.

Oh well onto some books...

Cutesy reads for cutesy feel goods and I really don't need to say anything more.  We are all quite aware how much these kind of books are my comfort reads.  Romance for the win is always the way.

 

Even so I did manage to read some non cutesy books for a change.  Shock horror I know.

 

Now I'd be the first to admit I'm not a big fantasy reader.  Way too many dwarves, dragons and elves for my liking.  So finding ones I actually want to read is a pretty rare thing.  Even rarer is if I like it.

Luckily this time round I found a series that was just the fantasy read I like - zero romance, badass female warriors and not a dragon in sight.

After all that sword fighting it was definitely time for some nonfiction reads and my usual mix bag with a book on gardening, living longer and a nice quirky, funny travel read that somehow I hadn't read before.

And of course there are the audios...

 

As you can see I'm still very much on a Doctor Who audio kick with the always brilliant Paul McGann.

 

Sci-fi feels all round.