This morning I woke up to the news that yesterday , 27th June 2012, was the day that Marty Mcfly travelled to the future in Back to the Future II. Although the date is slightly off (real date being 21st October 2015) , I seriously doubt that we will achieve anything that amazing by 2015 that we can’t do an audit now.
So let’s see…
Flying Cars – No. Not happening . And don’t argue by telling me that somewhere in Japan they’re ‘working on something’ . It doesn’t count. If I don’t see it as often as my local Starbucks it’s not real and it’s not happening.
Time travel – Technically, no. Although some places in the world will throw you right back to 1985, we aren’t quite there yet.
Video conferencing – We’re there ! And boy are we there. I think this was one of those things that everyone in the 80’s was excited about and the minute we got it, the hype was over. Why? Because we look absolutely terrible. I remember recoiling at the sight of myself on my first video call, not quite believing it was me. To this day I still need at least 1 minute recovery time at the beginning of every call. Obviously there are pro’s to all this technology and I don’t dispute that, but I do wonder at times how much of it is necessary. I’m genuinely scared to add up all the minutes I spend on here, twitter, facebook, email, tumblr, youtube, google, gmail, hotmail, college email .. just typing those names took a minute.
Gaming (!) – this one I was particularly excited to see. As with Back to the Future IIs’ 2015 where kids used nothing but their hands to control the game, this is possible now with the Wii and Kinect! Not ashamed to say this is a great achievement for mankind.
In many ways, McFly’s future has become our reality. We are consumed by electronics, obsessed with plastic surgery (also referenced in the movie), we eat too much and exercise too little.
So what else could be in the pipeline? A couple of years ago I couldn’t have imagined talking to my grandfather halfway across the world and seeing his face at the same time; or storing over 1000 books on one device, or doing all of my banking on a mobile phone. The possibilities seem endless but when will we start to plateau? More of a worry…when will it start to have a negative impact? (doing everything electronically is great but I haven’t handwritten a letter in 9 years, this bothers me).
We have 3 years to Back to the Future’s 2015 deadline, and 7 years to Bladerunners’ 2019 deadline. How does your future look?
Short and sweet synopsis: starring Rachel McAdams and Tatum Channing/Channing Tatum (tomatoe tomato) , the Vow is a movie ”inspired by true events” about a couple who meet, fall in love, get married,have a car accident, wife suffers a brain injury and amnesia and conveniently forgets her husband. Husband then tries to make wife remember him by doing nice things.
There. That’s it.
It’s also full of a lot of squishy moments like so ..
The only saving grace apart from Tatum Channing/Channing Tatums’ abs, is the ‘inspired by true events’ tagline. This always gets me no matter what movie I’m watching. The dullest movies are instantly turned into box office hits (if you don’t believe me, watch any of the Paranormal Activities).
But alas, not enough to make me love it!
What did you think? A good blogger would <insert poll here> because they know how.. I’ll get there.
I’ve been getting a lot of questions (in real life..not here..obviously, with no followers ..but let’s not go there) about my Kindle. ”How often do you use it?”, ”How long does it last?” , ”Why don’t you just read a real book?”
Well, let’s just start by saying I’m not really a book lover. Quite a controversial statement for someone who owns a Kindle (and now a blog, scary), but it’s true. I read, but don’t usually do it for fun. I do have a favorite book (American Psycho by Brett Easton Ellis) , which to me is a sure sign that I haven’t read enough.
So I got the Kindle last year and 6 months in, I’m still using it. <— big deal for me
How often do I use it? – Every single day. Not a day missed since November 2011. It’s like an AA recovery program for non-readers.
How long does it last? – I use it for roughly 40 mins per day. I charged my battery 2 months ago. That should give you an idea!
Why don’t I read a real book ? – Practicality. The books that I have gathered over the years take up too much space, either strewn over the house or in my bag. The Kindle weighs half a pound.
Ironically I am just this weekend going to buy a bookshelf to store all my real books. If I’m brave enough, I will post my ‘collection’ on here.
So today is apparently meant to be the longest lasting day. I say this with some skepticism as I draw the curtains, turn on the lights, and sit down to write this. It’s 20.07.
The ‘long day’ got me thinking about the beauty products we’ve all been told last long and ultimately fail to deliver. I can certainly name a few and I’m sure you can too!
That being said, here’s something that worked for me..
I have been wearing Zoya nail lacquer for around 10 days now and IT’S STILL ON ! If your experiences are anything like mine, you will find nail varnishes start chipping almost as soon as the first day is through. This has just not been the case for me with this product. It lasts and the colour doesn’t fade or loose its’ shine.
Packaging– nothing special. It’s nail varnish.
Brush– really easy to use and the bristles stay on the brush, not on your nails!
Colours– Zoya nail varnishes come in over 300 different colours. My colour was the Zoya – Charla. I wasn’t too sure at first how it would look when it was on. I’m usually not very impressed with glittery nail varnishes as it takes about 5 coats to make the glitter really stand out. This, however, was very bright and shimmery after the first coat.
Coverage – you can get away with one coat, but for the best effect I would go for two!
Where can you get it? – Oddly enough I found this at the Whole Foods Store. I haven’t been able to locate it anywhere else. They seem to only sell them to salons or spas which makes it a bit harder to get but you can also order off their online store 🙂
Price– saved the best for last? Not really. It cost me £11 for the bottle. My account can rest assured that I will not be making this a regular purchase … or so I keep telling myself..
In the run-up to Ridley Scott’s much anticipated prequel to the Alien series I, like many others, was subjected to a ruthless amount of advertising and plugging. Hopes were high. Excitement was through the roof. The pressure was on. I had bought the t-shirt before I had even been there and done that. At the earliest opportunity, we got ourselves the tickets and off we were to the IMAX, bottles of pepsi and M&M’s at the ready. This movie had to deliver.
From the opening sequence, the size of this movie really blew me away. Vast and majestic landscapes combined with the 3-D experience really immerse you into the scene from the get-go and set the tone for what’s to come. We are then almost immediately given a shot of the Alien. Sorry…is this where I’m meant to write ‘spoiler alert’ ? You can rest assured that it will be nothing like what you’re expecting.
The movie is set in 2093, at least 3 decades before Ellen Ripleys’ first alien-hunting escapade. In 2089 two archaeologists, Elizabeth Shaw (Noomi Rapace) and Charlie Holloway (Logan Marshall-Green), discover a star map which they believe could lead them to the origins of humanity. Their interests are funded by Peter Weyland (Guy Pearce) and they are given the opportunity to travel aboard the Prometheus in search of our ‘Engineers’.
Aboard the Prometheus, the crew travel in stasis for two years monitored by an android, David (Michael Fassbender). Anyone who knows their Alien movies will no doubt be reminded of the solitary shots of the Nostromo at this point with nothing but the sights and sounds of the ship itself. I have to say that Fassbender here, and throughout the movie, really puts on an impressive performance. Another pang of nostalgia as I was taken back to Scotts’ 1982 Bladerunner. Fassbenders’ David has very human moments and this was a theme throughout Bladerunner. We are made to question whether ‘replicants’ may have a soul and are capable of experiencing human emotion.
As the movie progresses, we are introduced to the mission lead Meredith Vickers (Charlize Theron) and the ships’ captain Janek (Idris Elba). I was going to do a detailed run down of who’s who here but really I didn’t feel that there was a lot of depth to the rest of the crew. Meredith Vickers is desperate to keep control of the mission and has daddy issues. Janek is the nonchalant, ‘witty’ captain who plays an instrument more than he drives the ship. If you’re expecting the depth of character that you witnessed in Alien and its’ sequel, you won’t get it here. We know the drill; the rest of the crew are there to be killed. But does character depth really matter for a movie of this size?
Michael Fassbenders’ David.
The events unfolding as the ship lands are rather predictable: crew find man-made/alien-made structure confirming signs of life; crew enter structure and find dodgy-looking cylinders filled with dodgy-looking fluid; crew find alien corpse; crew bring back alien corpse and dodgy-looking cylinder to the ship; chaos ensues. David is the cause of much of the trouble, rather accidentally in the beginning. His inquisitive and fearless nature see him opening all the doors and pushing all the buttons (literally). Shaw and Holloway return to the ship, eventually feeling (and looking) a little worse for wear. Two crew members are left behind in the structure (the details escape me at this point but something to do with a sandstorm). Action/Sci-fi lovers will get everything they hoped for here. What happens to these guys is grueling, painful and a real feast for the eyes if you can get through it. One by one, crew members start to drop off and our fears are confirmed; there’s something in that dodgy-looking fluid. Ridley Scott also returns to his interest in the alien occupying the human body with Shaw in one particularly gruesome scene. I won’t ruin this for you but girls, it’s hard to watch.
As things increasingly start to go wrong, Shaw realizes that the only way they might live to tell their tale is to get off the planet. But not before one final attempt at making friends with the Alien! David reveals that one of the ‘corpses’ found earlier is still alive and Shaw jumps (or hobbles at this point) at the opportunity to meet her maker. As predicted, things don’t go so well and Shaw is quickly made aware that the very thing they sought out might end the human race altogether.
Honest opinions? Ridley Scott will never recreate what he had with Alien. That being said, I don’t think he was trying to. This movie, although interlinked with the Alien series, has to stand alone completely in order to be appreciated for what it is. I have seen better movies this year but Prometheus did live up to what I expected from it. Plenty of ‘ooh’ and ‘aah’ moments to be had!
The downsides? I’m never overly thrilled when a director tries to answer questions about our existence. The attempt is noble but very few actually achieve it and achieve it well. ‘ Who are we? ..Why are we here?…What is our purpose? ‘; these questions are in our face throughout the movie, either directly posed by Shaw or indirectly. The title of the ship itself, Prometheus, is a giveaway. In Greek mythology Prometheus was a titan, responsible for the creation of man from clay. In more Western cultures Prometheus was a figure representing the quest for scientific knowledge. I’m all up for finding out where the Alien in the 1979 movie came from, but giving it a ‘deeper’ meaning put a bit of a damper on the whole experience.
All in all Prometheus deserves an 8/10 in my opinion. Visually breathtaking and a must see for all Alien and non-Alien fans alike. 1979’s Alien was innovative and something which people had never seen or experienced before. It is very difficult to surprise audiences today with the advances technology has made, but I think Ridley Scott has done it again! Watch it, Tweet me if you liked it..tweet me if you hated it. I’m interested. @vedrana_ilic
Prometheus has landed and I will finally get to experience it in IMAX 3D this weekend! Beyond excited to see Ridley Scott’s much anticipated sequel to the Alien movies. Stay tuned for a warts and all review !
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