The Inbetweeners - The Movie (2011)

Photo Credit

The Cast: Simon Bird (Will), James Buckley (Jay), Blake Harrison (Neil), Joe Thomas (Simon)

The series of ‘The Inbetweeners’ first aired in 2008 and introduced us to the four misfits we have come to know and love from series to series. It focuses on a very geeky Will, his three friends and their experiences at school.  All of the series have been received very well, winning them the Audience Award at the BATA’s in 2010 and the Best Sitcom award at the BCA’s in 2011.

The movie was long awaited as it a natural development for a series like this, being very popular for relating to its target audience. I was desperate to see this when it came out. I haven’t been an avid watcher of the series but I had seen quite a few episodes and thought the film would be just up my street.



Photo Credit



For people who watch the series, some have said there have been episodes that have possibly been funnier than the film. As I cannot judge that as I have not seen every single episode of every series, I can only speak from the viewpoint of the film in its own right.

The film focuses on the four boys making a trip to Malia, Crete. They want to have a memorable summer and show their schoolmates that they can be just as cool as them! They have two things in mind: drinking and getting girls! It was a great marketing choice to release the film just after the summer as everyone came back from party destinations such as Malia, Ibiza, Magaloof and Ayia Napa to be reminded of the fun antics they got up to!

My friend and I watched the film and couldn’t wait to start planning our trip to Ibiza next year as the film got us in the mood to be back on holiday, partying away! The film is hilarious and had us in stitches most of the way through it. The characters are already established thanks to the series but the actors made their mark in the film world and proved they are not just for the small screen.

What I like about this film are the love interests. The girls are perfectly suited to the boys and you are rooting for them to get together. Many have complained that the ending was too much of a happy ending but I think for viewers who empathise with the boys, we want them to be happy and finally get the girl! It’s a nice way for the boys to finally get what they deserve as they are sweet, geeky boys who hardly have any luck so the film wraps up loose ends and actually cuts them a break!

The antics the boys get up to on the first night are totally hilarious, Neil’s moves are hard to resist and adding in the other boys, seriously how do they not get girls? That was definitely my favourite part of the film. It had the whole audience crying with laughter! In the cinema the film was a big hit, everyone laughed in unison at the majority of the jokes, except one guy in front who laughed a few seconds later every time, there’s always one!

The fact is, it captured many people’s holiday experiences, maybe not to such an extreme but it made people feel familiar with the location, situations and characters. The film compliments the series well and it is worth a watch!

My view: Highly recommended. This film is pure comedy and laughs with a hint of romance. What more do you want from a film based on such a successful and established series?

Please leave your feedback on this film or let me know via twitter: @Trishaaa_

Links: http://www.e4.com/inbetweeners/
Sources: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Inbetweeners

My No1 Actor

Leonardo DiCaprio has been one of my favourite actors for a very long time. Actually scratch that, he IS my favourite actor of ALL time. I first watched him in ‘Titanic’ and I was amazed by his good looks and charm on screen. He has a genuine and likeable character that I adored as a young teenager, and obviously his natural good looks did do him favours. After that film I was a lover of DiCaprio and began following his work and back-tracking his previous films to be up-to-date with all that he had done.

I still have a few films of his to get through but what I love about DiCaprio is his choices in films. Not one of his films was a bad choice; they are all good quality in script, characters and effects for their time. Least of all he has the ability to hold his own on screen. From the beginning he gripped movie lovers with his believable performances and worked alongside some fantastic and well known actors.

In his very early career, he was seen in commercials and teen soaps such as ‘Growing Pains’ in the early 1990s but was soon making his name known in the films he first starred in.

DiCaprio’s films:

·         Critters 3 (1991)– his first film debut

·         This Boy’s Life(1992)– handpicked by Robert De Niro out of 400 young actors and received his first critical praise within the film industry for his fantastic performance as a trouble young boy with an abusive stepfather

·         What’s Eating Gilbert Grape (1993) – Dicaprio supported Johnny Depp  in this emotional and thought provoking film where he played a young boy with learning disabilities

·         The Quick and The Dead (1995) – western based film where he played ‘The Kid’, real talent shown here even as a young actor in a supporting role

·         Basketball Diaries (1995)- leading role in this disturbing teenage thriller that opens your eyes to the world of drug addiction

·         Marvin’s Room (1996) – supporting role as a young boy in a mental institution helping his mother, played by Meryl Streep, come to terms with her father and sister’s illnesses

·         Romeo and Juliet (1996) – Fantastic as lead in this adaptation of Shakespeare’s original romantic-tragedy, using the original dialogue in a modern day film. Interesting and original concept

·         Titanic (1997) – The film to bring him international fame. Another lead role and perfectly suited as the worldly Jack Dawson. Please see my post on this for a more in-depth review

·         The Man in the Iron Mask (1998) – Played dual roles as a the villainous King Louis XIV and his locked up twin brother, again showing diversity in his roles and the ability to capture audiences

·         The Beach (2000) –Played a backpacking American who searches for a secret island commune with fellow friends to discover that all is not so serene

·         Catch Me If You Can (2002) – worked alongside Christopher Walken and Tom Hanks as a young impersonator who travelled the country for free and committed countless amounts of fraud, all before his 19^th birthday. He played a less dark character here, showing a varied acting ability

·         Gangs Of New York (2002) – Territorial gang warfare set in the mid-19^th Century of the Five Points district of New York, DiCaprio played the protagonist of the Irish faction, Amsterdam Vallon

·         The Aviator (2004) –Played Howard Hughes, the aviation pioneer who battled with OCD. Worked along Cate Blanchett and received 5 Academy Awards

·         Blood Diamond (2006)-Played diamond smuggler from Rhodesia and successfully mastered the south African Afrikaner accent

·         The Departed (2006)- played a state trooper who went undercover for an Irish mob in Boston and his role in this film earned him a Satellite Award for Best Supporting Actor

·         Body of Lies (2008) – paired with Russell Crowe for a spy film based around terrorist organisations and Revolutionary Road (2008) –  reunited with Kate Winslet where he portrayed a cowardly and un-heroic character than his previous films and his role in ‘Titanic’

·         Shutter Island (2010) –Fantastic in this film as an FBI investigator searching for the truth behind a missing inmate, it gets you thinking, plays on your mind and has a lot of twists. DiCaprio makes you want his character to succeed and discover the mystery of this institution as well as deeply sympathise with him

·         Inception (2010) – a film based around implanting or extracting ideas from dreams. Brilliant concept and excellent CGI effects, it is beautifully realised and just how one would imagine it. DiCaprio holds the film as the ‘extractor’ in this ‘dream-heist’

I am impressed by DiCaprio’s wealth of films as well as the quality of his acting. He doesn’t rush into playing a character, he truly realises them and almost becomes them. He learns the twitches, characteristics and accents for them and he suits every role he has played. Even with his youthful looks he has played some dark characters and made them his own.

Leonardo DiCaprio certainly knows about variety in his roles. He has played dark and disturbing characters, become a light-hearted comedian in some of his films to then acting in action-packed films or being the romantic everyman. He truly deserves the spot in Top 10 actors for me and with his skill, film choices and natural screen presence he is definitely my number 1!

Follow him on twitter as he is an active philanthropist: @LeoDiCaprio

His website: http://www.leonardodicaprio.com/

My favourite photos (just to indulge myself really):

Amsterdam!

Last year in January 2010, my friend Katie and I ventured to Amsterdam for a long weekend. We had never been there before but all of our friends had recommended it to us and told us where to go and what to visit. We booked our ticket very spur of the moment and off we went on the half an hour flight to the capital of the Netherlands.

We had been waiting to go on a trip together for a while so we were very excited. We enjoyed the ease of the short flight and were in the city before we even listened to five songs on our IPod. We grabbed a taxi and headed to our hotel which was about ten minutes away from the centre.

We stayed in Hotel Central Park and were advised by the taxi man not to walk through the park next door to us at night, as unsavoury goings on occur there! For a first night this worried us a little but as soon as we dropped our things in the small hotel room we were off to explore. We actually got lost for a good hour as we did not realise we had to take a tram to get into the centre and we did not realise what time they stopped running. We managed to find the centre point and we definitely made the most of our first night.

We found the best little coffee shop by the canal and stayed there most of the evening. I highly recommend ‘Easy Times’ as the staff are amazingly helpful and the vibe is very chilled. They play really good, relaxing music too. Lots of slow jamz!

Through being lost that first night we actually knew the place inside out! We headed back to the hotel and stopped by a convenience store to get some toothpaste and other essentials as we forgot quite a bit. Everything was in Dutch or Japanese which worried us and as you can see from the photo, our toothpaste turned out to be a disgusting mistake for Kate!

Amsterdam was originally a small fishing village in the 12^th Century and was named after the canal that runs through it. It is known now as the financial and cultural capital. We had a lot to see the next day when we finally explored the city in daylight.

As soon as we stepped out of the door we realised that overnight the whole city was covered in a blanket of beautiful white snow. It was so picturesque we took a million photos. We couldn’t believe our luck that we had come at this time of year to get snow we crave for in London!

Our first stop was of course the Van Gogh museum which is just before the main centre and accessible via the trams. We both love art so this was the perfect opportunity for us to brush up on our knowledge! We looked round for ages and admired his work. There is also an ice rink outside the museum. After that we spent ages in the snow, taking photos and had some lunch.

The cafes are what attract most people to Amsterdam, as well as the Red Light District but there is so much else to see. I must admit we did go to so many random, backstreet cafes as we loved the vibe but Bulldog is the most famous so we had to go there too! As I will soon be visiting again I am definitely staying at the Bulldog Hotel as this is the hotspot of the centre. There are so many hostels to stay in to make your stay a little cheaper and these are perfectly safe, the Bulldog also has a hostel too!

For Kate and I it was all about the shops and the architecture. The buildings were so beautiful and old looking we couldn’t stop looking up and taking photos. We shopped all day in the little random shops that sold some really quirky things. They have everything from old fashioned merry-go-rounds (which I purchased) to hemp lollies (which I also purchased)! We did of course venture into a few sex shops and I am keeping my lips sealed as to whether we purchased anything LOL.

We weren’t around to visit the flower stalls due to the weather as it wasn’t the right season for the famous tulips. It is also famous for its large amounts of bike riders as this, as well as the trams are the easiest forms of transport and I recommend being very road wary!

We found some strange artwork in the back part of the city and also featured on a show being filmed live in the square! We loved the little food stations where you could purchase hot food out of a mini vending machine. I have to say the food was pretty good. Our favourite place to eat was right in the main square, the pancake house!

For us the trip was finding out about the cultural elements of the city and we definitely found the place to be interesting. The people were so friendly and the vibe of the whole city is very laid back. The bars and restaurants are really nice and there is a great and varied nightlife!

There have been rumours that weed will only be legal to residents of the Netherlands but this has been widely criticised so it's very doubtful this will happen any time soon. Also there is a sex museum we never got to visit as well as festivals on the canal that take place over the summer months.  There is also a beautiful theatre in the heart of Amsterdam called the Stadsschouwburg which has been around since 1894.

So my overall impression of Amsterdam was a very favorable one. Since I am planning a second trip I think that says it all. It has fun and cultural elements which will suit anyone of any age. My own Mother made a trip this year with her friend and had the best time! She has so many funny stories from her trip so I can safely say that it suits everyone. If you choose to go in the winter like we did, or like my Mother in the summer, it is still a beautiful place to visit, whatever the weather as you can still do everything you set out to do.

Here are a few more photos we took from our trip:

Note: All photos taken by myself and Kate

Follow me on: @trishaaa_

Miranda!

'Miranda' is a BBC TV series that aired in 2009. Miranda Hart is the brains behind this hilarious show and I absolutely love her. Since this show first started I have sat down to watch it religiously with my Mum. It literally makes us LOL.

I love her brash attitude towards love and life. The show lets us delve into her chaotic life with all the mishaps along the way. Every show is perfectly executed for full comedic effect and it is truly a brilliant show.

The characters are all so well developed and they explain why Miranda is so unlucky in love as well as quirky. She is too tall, very clumsy and has a childish sense of humour but all this just makes her a loveable character. She is socially awkward, has a crazy Mother (who reminds me of my own...SUCH FUN!) and a love interest that is out of her league.

The set up is based around her home above her joke/gift shop and basically revolves around her finding a man! I love how she looks to the camera for private jokes between the audience and her. Some critics have found her jokes 'obvious' but I couldn't care less. As far as I am concerned she is a comedy genius and I laugh every time she turns to look at the camera, stresses about Gary (the sexy love interest), falls over or sets someone alight! Her jokes are perfectly timed and relatable, its old school comedy and it deserves a comeback.

The other characters such as 'Stevie', her best friend compliment her so well and watching the pair of them makes you want to be friends with Miranda!

I really recommend watching the two series, and let me know your feedback! There are rumours of a third series and the second has just finished airing!

>>> http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b00nzytf

Here are a few other links:

http://mirandahart.com/
http://twitter.com/#!/mermhart

Classic Cartoons

'Beauty and The Beast' (1991)

I am a big fan of the classic Walt Disney cartoons. I have recently received ‘Beauty and the Beast’ on DVD where this classic love story has been digitally restored and brought back to life. I used to watch this film; along with many of the classic Disney films such as ‘Little Mermaid’ (1989), ‘Sleeping Beauty’ (1959) and ‘Snow White’ (1937), as a child and I have always been fascinated by them.

I have to say that of all the films, ‘Beauty and the Beast’ is my favourite as it has such beautiful instrumental music and a lovely meaning behind the film. What I love about it is the message it sends to all its viewers, about beauty being on the inside.

The film is dark at points and it definitely appeals to a more adult audience. The original cartoons from Disney all have this darker element in them which, as a child, did scare me. The villains in the films were always eerie and frightening.

All these films have a fantastical and magical feel to them, such as the enchanted castle in ‘Beauty and the Beast’ to the mythological element of ‘Little Mermaid’. I love how they capture audiences with wonder and take you back to your childhood. They are much more intense then the cartoons nowadays. Even the modern Disney films such as ‘Cars’ (2006) or ‘The Princess and the Frog’ (2009), do not match the standard of the older generation of cartoons. The storylines, drawings and music are nothing in comparison.

For me, the music is key and if you listen to the clip you will see how this sets the scene in ‘Beauty and the Beast’ and why it is a fantastic musical piece to begin a film with >>>

I think all the characters are developed well in looks, voice and furniture representation, such as the tea pot - ‘Mrs Potts’ and the candle stick - ‘Lumiere’. The storyline of the wilting rose that means the Beast must find love before the rose dies is such an enchanting and haunting story. The dark and creepy castle reflects the Beasts loathing of his current form and when he is transformed through Belle’s love the Castle changes back to its former glory.

I love how it teaches all a lesson about judging people on first appearances as well as learning to love someone for who they are, not what they look like. All Disney films tend to have some kind of message but this one is set apart from the rest. I wish all cartoons could be as good as these films but unfortunately the CGI generation is taking over and the quality is suffering because of this.