What I've Been Loving Recently #5

So it's been about six weeks since my last WIBLR and once again I have a lot of recommendations for you all. I've been watching a lot of tv shows and movies and they weren't all amazing but these are the ones that I loved (or really liked).

I had heard about Ozark a few months before it was released on Netflix and at first it didn't interest me, but then I watched the trailer and it made me very excited to start watching it. In short, it's about a guy called Marty Byrde (Jason Bateman) who launders money for the Mexican cartel and has to relocate his family to the Ozark lakes in Missouri after his business partner gets into debt with them. The cast is excellent with Laura Linney playing Marty's wife, Julia Garner who plays Ruth Langmore is amazing as is Jason Butler Harner who plays FBI Agent Roy Petty and Peter Mullan as usual is incredible as the local crime lord who comes up against Marty.

After a slow pace to begin with, this is definitely one of those shows that once you get into it, you'll want to binge watch it. It's been compared to Breaking Bad I suppose for the anti-hero, ordinary family guy turned criminal aspect but it's very different although just as gripping. Having said that if you were a fan of Breaking Bad this might fill that void for you. I enjoyed seeing Jason Bateman playing a darker character but part of me will always just see him as Michael Bluth (there's definitely some Michael Bluth in Marty Byrde too). It's been picked up for a second season and I'm definitely excited to see what happens next in the story.

The film Wet Hot American Summer was was released in 2001 and has since become a cult classic amongst its fans. It's one of those absolutely polarising films that you will either love or hate (I can see how it might not be a lot of peoples sense of humour). It's ridiculous and wacky and I adore it. I've watched it countless times and so when I heard David Wain and Michael Showalter were making a prequel for Netflix in 2015 I was delighted. Wet Hot American Summer: Ten Years Later is the second follow up to the film but this time its set ten years later. Most of the original cast returned including Paul Rudd, Amy Poehler and Janeane Garofalo as well as Adam Scott, Chris Pine, Jason Schwartzman and Kristen Wiig. Obviously if you haven't seen the film there's no point in watching this but I encourage anyone who likes any of the above actors to watch it. David Wain who co-wrote the film with Michael Showalter and directed it also made Role Models and Wanderlust so if you liked the kind of humour in those films, you might like this. 

Bojack Horseman is something I used to see all the time on the Netflix suggestions and having one of my favourite comedic actors as the voice of the main character (Will Arnett) made me want to watch it but for some reason I never gave it a go. My boyfriend started to watch it and it happened to be on in the background a few times and I found myself paying attention and laughing so I started watching it with him and now I'm obsessed. We're currently on the fourth season which is the most recent and I'm definitely going to go back and watch it from the beginning as I missed most of the first season. To give you an idea of what it's like, the picture below is of one of the main characters Princess Caroline who is voiced by the hilarious Amy Sedaris, with her boyfriend Vincent Adultman who is not a man but rather three kids sitting on each other's shoulders in a trench coat pretending to be a man. It's a hilarious yet dark (sometimes very dark) show that has lots of amazing guest voice actors as well as the main cast of Aaron Paul, Paul F. Tompkins and Alison Brie. 

Difficult People is now in its third season and again this will be a love or hate show. If you've watched Parks and Recreation or the latest American Horror Story you might recognise Billy Eichner (also if you haven't seen his show Billy on the Streets it's so funny) and along with Julie Klausner they play Billy and Julie, two best friends living in New York and trying (and failing terribly) to make it in show business. They're annoyed by everyone except each other which I'm sure a lot of people can relate to. It's well written and has a great support cast who are equally funny. This third season was probably my least favourite out of the three so far but its a show I'd definitely watch all over again. 

I've been looking forward to watching The Deuce since I first heard about it earlier this year. It has everything I love, New York, the seventies, Maggie Gyllenhaal, James Franco and it's on HBO. It's not for the faint of heart as it does have graphic scenes of sex and violence but after only five episodes this has quickly become one of the best television programmes I've seen in a long time. Like I've already mentioned it's set in New York in the 1970s in the area around Times Square and explores the lives of the sex workers in the area as well as the legalisation and rise of the porn industry. James Franco plays Vincent and Frankie Martino who begin working as a front for the mob. Maggie Gyllenhaal plays Candy, a struggling sex worker who develops an interest in working in the porn industry as a means to make more money to support her young son. The Deuce was created by the guys behind The Wire so if you've watched that you might be interested in this. 

When I saw the trailer for Logan Lucky I was so excited to watch it. As a big Steven Soderbergh fan (I think most people are) I was hoping this wouldn't disappoint and thankfully it didn't. First of all I loved the cast. Channing Tatum is so damn funny. Daniel Craig was ridiculous and amazing. Adam Driver I'd watch in anything, he's an incredible actor and Riley Keogh was so funny and completely on par with the boys. Also, Irish actor Brian Gleeson and Jack Quaid (yes, that's Meg Ryan and Dennis Quaid's son!) played the brothers of Daniel Craig's character and were both hilarious. It's basically Ocean's Eleven set in North Carolina. Watch it for the accents alone. 

Was anyone else obsessed with the 1990 version of IT starring Tim Curry and Ray from Sister Sister? Just me then! I remember first watching the 192 minute two part miniseries when I was probably far too young to be watching something about a demented clown who tortures and kills children. I actually owned a VHS of it and I'm pretty sure it's still somewhere in my parents house. My sister and my friends and I would watch it at sleepovers and terrify each other throughout the viewing by making noises and jumping out at each other. I was terrified of clowns as a child and it didn't help that my aunt was obsessed with them and had clown paintings and figurines all over her house which didn't exactly make me excited about visiting her. The sight of Tim Curry as Pennywise still gives me chills, that one scene where he appears behind the sheets on the washing line in the garden haunts me. That being said, it is quite a cheesy film so I was very curious to see how the reimagining would compare to the miniseries.

I wasn't overly excited to see it which was probably a good thing because my expectations weren't too high and therefore I was left pleasantly surprised by how much I enjoyed it. I liked how it was set in the eighties and had that nostalgic feeling, like with Stranger Things or films I watched as a kid like The Goonies. The actors were all amazing, the casting was perfect. However I wasn't that impressed with the actual clown. I think it's just the CG effects I don't really like, the original film was terrifying because Tim Curry looked so real as the clown whereas the effects in this new one just distracted me and took me out of the realistic world they created. I'm very interested to see the sequel and who they cast to play the adults. I don't know how much it's going to differ from the book as I never finished it because it's so damn long and boring, so if you did manage to read it let me know what you thought of this adaptation. 

Mother! is yet another film that will divide people. If you don't like Darren Aronofsky's other film's chances are, this won't be for you, but if you liked Black Swan, Requiem For A Dream or The Wrestler then definitely check this out. I chatted with a few people about this after I watched it and I did find there was something lacking in it for me, I couldn't quite put my finger on it although I did enjoy it. I love that his films really engage you in the main character and the way it was shot I found myself getting more and more frustrated the way Jennifer Lawrence's character did. I loved her performance (apart from her wig which was a bit distracting) and I am so excited to see Michelle Pfeiffer on the big screen again, she was incredible as she is in everything she stars in. If you're in any way faint of heart, you might want to give this a miss because without giving anything away, the last half an hour or so or the film builds into quite disturbing and difficult to watch scenes that left me feeling very uneasy. However to me, that's the mark of a great filmmaker, to engage his or her audience and make them feel something intense. 

Finally, my music recommendation is the collaboration between Kurt Vile and Courtney Barnett. I'm a big Kurt Vile fan and I knew of Courtney Barnett but hadn't ever really listened to her music. Their album has only just been released but I've been listening to the few songs I'd heard over and over again and I'm loving the combination of these two incredibly talented people. I'm looking forward to giving the album a proper listen and hoping I get to see them perform it live. 

So those are my recent recommendations. I've just started Mindhunter on Netflix and I already love it so I'll be featuring that in my next post as well as Blade Runner 2049 which I saw last week. If there's anything you loved recently whether it's a film or tv show or music, please tell me because I'm always looking for new things to get into and let me know if you've watched any of these and what you thought.

Emma x

What I've Been Loving Recently #4

It's been six weeks since my last WIBLR post and in that time I've consumed quite a lot of popular (and not so popular) culture. I've continued to watch Archer and Twin Peaks. Twin Peaks is continually blowing me away, I'm loving it more and more with every episode. I'm almost caught up with My Favorite Murder (mentioned in the second WIBLR post ) which is crazy because I've been listening to it since the middle of May, so that's over 100 episodes in the past almost 3 months. I don't know what I'm gonna do once I've caught up and have to wait every week for an episode. Binge consuming of culture has ruined me! 

First up is a film I had really been looking forward to, Spider-Man: Homecoming. I was mostly looking forward to it because I've never been crazy about the other Spider-Man incarnations. Honestly I just wasn't a fan of Tobey Maguire as Spider-Man and I don't think I even saw the Andrew Garfield one. My favourite Spider-Man was probably the nineties animated series which I loved as a kid. After Tom Holland's cameo in Captain America: Civil War I was excited to see him in his own Spider-Man film. The reunion of one of my favourite on screen couples Marisa Tomei and Robert Downey Jr. may have also had something to do with my excitement. 

I really loved this film. It was fun and entertaining and hilarious and the casting was spot on. I've been loving Michael Keaton's return the big screen too. A lot of it was filmed it Queens which was an added bonus because we recognised some of the locations. Since having been in New York I get so excited every time I watch something that's been filmed there. I like the light-heartedness that this film has in comparison with the other Spider-Man films, it doesn't take itself too seriously which is exactly what I want from a superhero movie. My only gripe is that Marisa Tomei wasn't in it enough for me.

I saw one of the early trailers for Baby Driver without knowing it was an Edgar Wright film and my initial thought was "what the hell is this?". I didn't think the trailer did it any favours and I definitely wouldn't have been convinced to go see it by watching the trailer if I didn't know who directed it. I'm a huge fan of Edgar Wright so when I saw this was one of his films I was a lot more excited to see it than I had been initially (also, two words: Jon Hamm). I was really surprised by how much I liked this. Ansel Elgort is amazing in it. I found the performances by the supporting cast to be a bit tongue in cheek which I'm sure was intentional. The soundtrack was particularly incredible as it is with the other Edgar Wright films. There's also some romance and a lot of humour. I'd highly recommend seeing this if you get a chance.

I was very excited to see The Beguiled, mostly because it was directed by Sofia Coppola who directed one of my favourite films, Lost in Translation. I loved The Virgin Suicides, Marie Antoinette and Somewhere too, The Bling Ring left me disappointed but I'm always interested in seeing her work. The Beguiled is a (sort of) remake of the 1971 Clint Eastwood film of the same name based on the book A Painted Devil by Thomas Cullinan. I'm not going to go to much into the plot for anyone who doesn't know what it's about, but in short it's set in a girl's boarding school in Virginia during the Civil War. One of the girls finds a wounded solider and brings him back to the school to recover and his presence stirs up the relationships between the teachers and students. 

I still don't really know how I felt about this film. It's beautifully shot, as is the case with all Coppola's films. The performances were excellent, although as much as I love Colin Farrell as an actor I always laugh when he has his own Irish accent in his films. I feel like it lacked something for me, I read some reviews of it that said it cut out some of the back story to the characters and one significant character from the book and 1971 film and I'm not sure if that was a bad choice. It's definitely an interesting plot as it is, seeing how the introduction of a man into the home of a group of women instantly affects them all in different ways, but I did feel there wasn't the character development there that happens with adaptations sometimes. 

If you're a Sofia fan, you'll definitely enjoy this, but I didn't love it the way I did her other films. 

If you get the chance, try to see Dunkirk in IMAX. The sound design of the film is such an important part of it and the IMAX really immerses you in it, as much as a film can because thankfully most of us will never know what it feels like to be apart of such horrifying circumstances. Again, Christopher Nolan is a director who I have loved for years. The first film I saw of his was Memento and then Insomnia and ever since I've looked forward to seeing each film he has directed. Dunkirk was no exception and I was very interested to see what way he was going to handle a film about World War II. 

I really enjoyed the film, like I said the sound design is incredible as is the cinematography and the performances. I like the way it was split into land, sea and air and you got a glimpse of each perspective. Some characters were more well developed than others. The men from the sea portion of the film had the most development, the pilots were pretty straight forward and group of young guys who were trying to get off the beach were somewhere in between. I don't know whether it's just me expecting a more human element to the story rather than straightforward almost documentary like storytelling of the events. But there was something lacking for me. I appreciate that Nolan wanted show the events of Dunkirk from several different perspectives in such a short space of time and therefore its difficult to go into much depth with any one character. But then it is a film about the war and if you're not going to choose to depict a specific story, then you have to just let it be about the events in order to honour the people who went through it.

Shamefully, I didn't know much about what happened at Dunkirk so it's great that a film like this can remind us all that what happened wasn't all that long ago, especially with what's going on in the world at the moment, we can never remind ourselves too often of the lessons history has taught us and that sadly that fight is still going on for so many people around the world today. We all have our part to play in making sure nothing like World War II ever happens again. 

I was looking forward to seeing The Big Sick since I first heard about it. I've been a big fan of Kumail Nanjiani for years, he's been in lots of my favourite comedy shows and most recently Silicon Valley which I wrote about here. I knew the story of how he and his wife Emily got together and the very unusual situation that came about when they were first dating. I won't spoil what happens because if you don't know the story yet I don't want to ruin it for anyone but basically himself and Emily wrote the film based on their relationship and the difficulties of coming from two different cultures. I really really loved this film, the cast is so good, Holly Hunter and Ray Romano play Emily's parents and they really stole the show for me. The adorable Zoe Kazan plays Emily and Kumail plays himself. It's hilarious and heartbreaking and a very unromantic, romantic comedy. 

Glow is a Netflix original series about female wrestling in 1980s Los Angeles. It was created by the women who made Weeds and Orange is the New Black so it has the same dark humour as both of those shows. I was a huge fan of Weeds, but I never actually finished it because I thought it was starting to go downhill however the first few seasons are excellent. 

Glow is probably my least favourite of the three shows. I really like the cast, Kate Nash, the British singer is in it which I found very strange but she's actually really good. I loved Debbie and some of the other characters more than the main character Ruth, played by Alison Brie and Marc Maron who is a great comedian that I've loved for years now. 

It's fairly light-hearted and easy viewing that doesn't demand much from the audience which is just what you need sometimes. If you're a fan of OITNB you'll enjoy this, but I don't think it's as good. 

Orange is the New Black is now in its fifth season and it's still going strong. I put off starting this most recent season for a while because there were a few other things I wanted to finish watching first. I wasn't overly excited to watch it if I'm honest, but once we watched the first episode I think we finished it in a week. I was really impressed with this season, I loved that they did something a bit different and we got to see the characters in different situations to their normal everyday prison life. I also like how they addressed social issues that mirror what's going on in the world at the moment. There is a lot of humour too, some of my favourite parts were the prison guard talent show and Flaca and Maritza's YouTube channel (I'd definitely subscribe to that). But like I said above, there is a lot of darkness in this show too. I think this was my favourite season yet and it's one of those shows where the writing and cast are so good that there is still so much they can do with it without it going stale. I really hope next season is just as good and if you haven't watched it yet, you've got five seasons to binge watch!

Friends From College is something I came across one night when I was doing my usual browsing through Netflix for an hour before actually choosing something to watch. I watched the trailer and I was intrigued because I hadn't heard anything about it but it was new to Netflix and has some of my favourite comedians in it- Billy Eichner and Keegan-Michael Key as well as Cobie Smulders from How I Met Your Mother and Fred Savage (yes, from The Wonder Years). It was created by Nicholas Stoller who made Forgetting Sarah Marshall, Get Him to the Greek, The Five Year Engagement and Bad Neighbours and it's the same kind of humour as those films.

The premise is pretty simple, a group of friends from college get back in touch with each other and chaos ensues. It's a very straight forward comedy/drama that's very easy to watch. I enjoyed it a lot more than I thought I would, it's a great one for rainy days like today when you want to watch something easy and entertaining.

So those are my favourites from the past month. I'm currently watching Ozark and Wet Hot American Summer TenYears Later on Netflix so I'll give you my thoughts on those in the next post. I saw Fleet Foxes live which was amazing and I'm still loving their new album. I also saw Michael Ian Black do a set at the Vodafone Comedy Festival which was so cool. I've listened to the new Arcade Fire album a few times too and I'm not crazy about it so far which is disappointing because we got tickets to see them next year.

Have you seen any of these? What have you been watching/listening to recently?

Emma x

What I've Been Loving Recently #2

I'm back with my second instalment of What I've Been Loving Recently. After writing the first one last month I was really excited to put together a second one and hopefully next month I'll have even more to write about.

It's been a month since my last post of TV, Film, Music and Podcast suggestions and I wasn't expecting to have as many to write about so soon because we were away in New York for a good chunk of the month but here we are with lots more things I've been loving and I've even had to cut my list down so as not to make this post too long which I'm sure it will be anyway. I've tried to not give away too much about anything, so you can read without getting any spoilers.  

Let's begin with the TV shows I've been loving. First up is The Last Man on Earth which has just finished its fourth season on FOX. It's a comedy created by and starring Will Forte (who I've adored since watching him on Saturday Night Live). **SPOILER ALERT** (she types after just saying she won't spoil anything) he's not exactly the last man on earth, but you learn that pretty quickly so it's not really a spoiler is it? I won't go too much into it just in case anyone reading wants to start watching it, which you should because it's hilarious. This will be a love or hate show, because it does have a specific type of humour and if you love what Will Forte has done in the past, you'll definitely love this. It's so friggin good!

You might be looking at the picture above wondering why a grown woman is watching a cartoon. Well I'll have you know I love cartoons (Adventure Time, Rick and Morty, Bob's Burgers are all amazing!) These are obviously "grown up" cartoons and Archer is one of the funniest shows on Tv at the moment, animated or not. Archer was created by Adam Reed who also created Sealab 2021 and Frisky Dingo (neither of which I've watched yet). It centres around the employees of an international spy agency in New York with Sterling Archer as the show's egotistical but highly skilled protagonist. 

I started watching it when it first began in 2009 and stopped watching somewhere during the fourth season, not because I disliked it but I think I had missed a few and then never caught up so I just waited to rewatch it from the beginning again which is what we did recently. We're now on season six and it's just as good as when it first started. Obviously you can do so much more with the story of an animated television show and the last season Archer Vice was probably my favourite yet because of how hilariously crazy it was. There's another two seasons and I'm looking forward to getting completely caught up. The writing and the voice actors make this show. It stars Jon Benjamin (Bob from Bob's Burgers among many other amazing roles), Chris Parnell (from 30 Rock and Saturday Night Live), Judy Greer and Jessica Walter (both from Arrested Development) and Aisha Tyler (from Criminal Minds and Friends). This is another show you'll either love or hate, it's currently on Netflix so you can binge watch 8 seasons, so why not give it a go if you're looking for something funny and light-hearted to watch that's a bit different from your normal comedy.

This is one of the shows I'm most excited to talk about. Ive been looking forward to the second season of the Netflix series Master of None for what feels like years now, in a way it has been because the first season aired in 2015. At the moment there's no news as to whether there will be a third season or not so if there is, I'll be waiting a long time again. This second season was so good that I almost wouldn't mind if there wasn't another season because I'd be worried that nothing could live up to how good this one was.

For anyone who hasn't heard anything about it, Master of None was created by Aziz Ansari and Alan Yang, both of whom are probably best known for working on Parks and Recreation. I adore Parks and Rec, but Master of None is a completely different show, even though they're both very funny. 

The show centres around Dev Shah, played by Aziz Ansari who is an actor living in New York. It deals with the struggles of being a minority working, dating and living in a big city. I love everything about this show. The soundtrack really stands out, the cinematography is so beautiful for a television show and in general really (bravo Mark Schwartzbard), I especially loved the many cinematic references in the second season. The supporting cast are all excellent including Aziz Ansari's own parents (his father is particularly hilarious). 

I loved the first season, but the second really blew me away. The first episode is set in the Italian town of Modena where Dev has spent some time learning to make pasta (he's a tiny bit obsessed with food) and is filmed in black and white in homage to the Vittorio de Sica film Ladri di Biciclette (Bicycle Thieves). It's in Modena, that Dev meets Francesca (I double dare you not to fall in love with her!) who's grandmother is teaching him how to make pasta. Their friendship is one of the main storylines of the season, as is the development of Dev's career and his continued efforts to date in modern society. One episode is solely Dev going on numerous first dates that he has arranged as a result of using a Tinder style app. 

There is a few central storylines throughout the season with the addition of stand alone episodes centering on some of the other characters, such as the Thanksgiving episode that tells the story of Dev's friend Denise coming out to her mother. It was based on the real life story of how Lena Waithe, who plays Denise, actually came out to her mother which makes it feel like such an authentic piece of storytelling. 

As you can see I have lots of thoughts but I don't want to go into it too much for anyone who is reading this and hasn't seen the show yet. All I can say is that it won't be to everyone's taste, if you're in your twenties/thirties I fell like so much of the show will be relatable. It's on Netflix and is only twenty episodes over two seasons so it's worth giving it a go. 

I had heard about Margaret Atwood's book The Handmaid's Tale for years and even though I have never actually read it (which I am definitely going to now), I vaguely knew the plot, so when I heard that it was being made into a television series starring Elisabeth Moss I was incredibly excited to see it. There were advertisements for it all over New York when we were there. There was even an installation in the High Line that had free copies of the book for passers by, but all the books were gone when we were there. 

When we returned from New York, the post holiday blues inevitably set in but then I remembered there were a few episodes of The Handmaid's Tale to watch. I didn't know the full plot, just a few details, which I think is the best way to watch this if you haven't already read the book. All I really knew was that it was set in a near future dystopian society where most women have become infertile. I don't want to tell you anything else just in case you don't know anything about it yet. I was completely hooked after the first episode which blew me away. Elisabeth Moss is one of my favourite actors and I was so excited to see her in this role because her performances are always phenomenal and this is no exception. 

I don't even know where to begin with it. I have so many thoughts about it, the performances, the cinematography, the art direction, the soundtrack which is so perfect (how good was Don't You Forget About Me in the second episode), the storylines, everything! I'm completely in awe of this incredible, disturbing story that feels almost too real. It's difficult to watch some scenes, especially because of the amazing performances. The flashbacks and the inner monologue of the main character Offred are the most upsetting because of how realistic they are. Theres a quote from one of the first episodes (and also from the book) that really stuck with me, "Nothing changes instantaneously: in a gradually heating bathtub, you'd be boiled to death before you knew it". The idea is that governments don't get overthrown overnight. Big changes take time and can happen slowly before our very eyes without us realising it and that's the scary part.

If you were to take any of my suggestions from this post, I'd urge it to be The Handmaid's Tale. If anyone else has seen it or read it let me know what you think, I'm dying to talk more about it. Don't let the bastards grind you down!

Something a little bit lighter now (although I did actually cry during this so not entirely light-hearted).  Anyone who saw and loved Guardians of the Galaxy knew a sequel was inevitable and although I'm not usually the biggest fan of sequels, in the Marvel universe, sequels are fine by me. I was quite excited to see Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 because I adored the first one. First of all, I'd watch anything with Chris Pratt because he is the cutest! I've loved him since I first saw him in Everwood (anyone else remember that show) and then my ultimate favourite Andy Dwyer in Parks and Recreation where he was incredibly funny and charming. The entire cast is excellent (you can't not love baby Groot) it's entertaining and hilarious and there's Kurt Russell and Kirk from Gilmore Girls and there's a heart there too, which I can't help but love even though in films like these it's not 100% necessary. The soundtrack is also amazingly curated. 

This month I have another podcast suggestion, My Favorite Murder, which was recommended to me on Instagram by Sinead who you should definitely follow if you enjoy lovely photos and food and skincare/makeup. I was looking for something to fill the S Town void and I can't think of anything better than a podcast by two hilarious women about their favourite true murder cases. As it stands there are 69 episodes (I've listened to the first 16 in the past week!) and I'm so excited that I have this huge backlog of episodes to catch up on. You probably don't know this about me but I'm big into true murder, especially film and documentaries. It kind of runs in my family because my granny and aunt are the exact same. They even used to buy all of those true crime magazines. Making a Murderer, The Jinx, The Staircase, you name it, I'll watch it. The Zodiac is probably one of my favourites and I actually have the book based on that case which I have yet to read.

The thing I love about My Favorite Murder is the two hosts Georgia and Karen and how they deal with the subject of horrific murders and yet somehow manage to keep it from getting too intense (most of the time). I also love how passionate they both are about this topic (yay, I don't feel like a total weirdo for being obsessed with true murder) and how excited they get when one of them mentions a case the other hasn't heard of yet. Be warned though, sometimes it can get gory and horrifying so if you're scared easily this probably isn't going to be for you but I absolutely love it and can't stop listening to episode after episode. They also recommend some great tv shows and movies too. I have a feeling this will keep me going for a while but if you have any podcast suggestions please let me know because it's such a vast world that I don't even know where to start.

Finally is this month's music suggestion which is the new album from Mac DeMarco called This Old Dog. I started listening to him when his last album Salad Days came out in 2014 and became obsessed. This is his third album and at just 27 years old, it feels like he is so much older than his years. He's admitted that some of the lyrics are about his father with whom he has a fairly estranged relationship but there's also a lot more in it. I'm going to be seeing him play live for the first time in November and I'm so excited, especially after recently watching his set at Coachella. He's such a unique person with an incredible voice and musical talent, but he's definitely got a love or hate style. You either get him and love him or you don't. That being said, I'd definitely give this new album a listen. It's a bit more relaxed than the last album but the lyrics are beautiful and so relatable at times. I listened to this a lot on the subway when we were in New York so I think it'll always have a special place in my heart.

So that's a selection of what I've been loving recently, apologies that it was such a long post, but it's sometimes difficult to know how much to write because I want to encourage people to check out my suggestions without giving too much away but I also have so much to say about each one that it's hard to just give a quick synopsis. I hope you enjoyed this post and please do leave a comment if you have suggestions of films and tv shows you think I'd like or books, podcasts or music. I mostly find new things I love through other peoples suggestions so hopefully some of you will find something new to love after reading this.

Hope you're all having a lovely weekend!

Emma x

What I've Been Loving Recently

I used to write about things other than style and beauty a lot more on the blog years ago and I wanted to try to get back into sharing some of my other interests because over the past almost seven years this has always been a space where I wrote about the things I love and that includes so much more than just style and makeup. That's not to dismiss writing about those things, because I absolutely adore it, any of my fellow fashion and beauty bloggers know that it's not the seemingly frivolous endeavour that some people can label it as being. It takes so much effort and time, money, patience, many different skills, creativity and above all passion.

There has been a lot of controversy about blogging and in turn Youtubers, content creators and "influencers" in the past year or so but particularly the past couple of weeks here in Ireland. I don't want to get into the details too much but I did want to share my thoughts as blogging is something that has been a huge part of my life for almost seven years now. I have met (or interacted with on social media) some of the most amazing, inspiring, passionate and creative people through blogging. The simple fact of the matter is that yes, there will always be people who are looking to make a quick euro and are perhaps disingenuous with their followers, but all you have to do is unfollow them, don't watch their videos or snapchat or read their blog. Why on earth would anyone spend their precious time on someone who they don't like or can't relate to? I make it my business to only follow people whose content I enjoy.

I have a full time job and blogging is a hobby for me as it is with most of the other women I follow. I chose to spend the free time I have writing about the things that I love. It doesn't interest me to write about things I don't like and that's a personal decision that every other blogger is entitled to make for themselves. I barely have enough time to write about everything I like let alone the things I don't like. I know a lot of my fellow bloggers feel the same way and if someone sees that as being fake well then so be it. I'm always open and honest about the products that I write about and I wouldn't feel comfortable mentioning something I haven't properly tried myself. I'm planning on writing a post with suggestions of bloggers who I love and believe are passionate and genuine, so if you're looking for some new people to follow, watch this space. That's all I really wanted to say, so let's get on with it or this post is going to need two parts!

I watch a LOT of television and movies and I loved sharing some of my favourite films here over the years with the series I did with stills from my favourite films. I wrote about Lost in Translation, Wizard of Oz, Rear Window, Gattaca and Labyrinth and I loved creating those posts even though they took a lot of time, it was fun to revisit some of my favourite films and share my thoughts on them with you all.

I thought I would try a monthly series in which I share some of the things I've been loving recently that aren't necessarily beauty or fashion related. I've really been enjoying Olivia's Sunday Duvet Reading series and I wanted to do something similar wherein I write about some of the things I've been watching, reading and listening to over the past while as I'm always on the lookout for suggestions myself, I hope that some of you will find this helpful. 

Let's begin with movies. I've been to the cinema few times over the past month and I've seen three amazing films. Firstly was a much anticipated film for myself and my sister and I'm sure anyone who grew up on nineties Disney films, Beauty and the Beast. I had high hopes for it, mostly because they used the original music and songs from the Disney film and I love all of the actors involved. Nothing will ever live up to the animated version for me, I have such vivid memories of watching it, I know the entire film by heart, there was just no way this live action version could come close. However I'm happy to say I really enjoyed it. I thought the casting was spot on. Nobody could outdo Angela Lansbury as Mrs Potts but Emma Thompson is the next best thing. I love that they gave more of a back story, the only thing that I didn't like is the extra songs. I didn't hate them but I felt that they didn't really add anything to the film. The original songs are so iconic that the new additions were a bit lost. The most surprising thing was how funny it was, I wasn't expecting that at all but casting Josh Gad as LaFou was perfect, he was such amazing comic relief. In short, if you didn't like the animated Beauty and the Beast you probably won't like this.

Another film I saw recently that I was so excited to for was Get Out. I hadn't read too much about the plot because I wanted to be surprised (I actually hate trailers nowadays because they tend to give so much of the film away). All I really knew was that it's written and directed by Jordan Peele who I'm a huge fan of (and his wife Chelsea Peretti is one of the funniest people ever) so I was looking forward to his directorial debut. I don't want to write too much because if you haven't heard much about it, I'd try to keep it that way, the less you know the better. All I'll say is that it was incredibly original, hilarious, tense and unnerving.

The most recent film I've seen in the cinema was Free Fire, directed by Ben Wheatley who I've been a fan of for years, so I was very excited to see his latest film. If you've seen any of his other films like Kill List, A Field in England or High-Rise you'll know he is such an original filmmaker. His films aren't exactly mainstream, but I'd say Free Fire is the most commercial that I've seen yet. The cast is perfectly assembled with Cillian Murphy, Brie Larson, Armie Hammer, Sharlto Copley and Michael Smiley to name a few. It's a mixture of violence and dark humour along the lines of Reservoir Dogs. My boyfriend and I didn't stop laughing the whole way through. I can't recommend this highly enough!

I've been watching my usual TV shows like Walking Dead, It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia, Girls (I've been loving this last season), The Mindy Project and Catastrophe (another amazing original comedy that's just finished its third season and gets better and better, the writing and performances are unbelievable). If you're looking for an excellent television drama, I loved Big Little Lies. It's a mini series on HBO based on a novel that has a cast full of some of my favourite actors including Nicole Kidman, Reese Witherspoon, Laura Dern, Adam Scott, Zoe Kravitz and Alexander Skarsgård. It's set in Monterey, California and the characters are all intertwined in eachother's lives with lots of secrets as you can imagine from the title. It's just such a high quality piece of television and the soundtrack is stellar too. It's not much of an investment at only seven episodes but the characters are so well developed it will leave you wanting more. It made me remember what incredible actresses Nicole Kidman and Reese Witherspoon are, Shailene Woodley was amazing too!

One thing I want to do more is listen to podcasts. I used listen to them a lot more often and I loved it. I'm sure most of you have heard of, if not listened to Serial or This American Life, the producers of which have a new podcast called S Town. I finished S Town in two days, I just couldn't stop listening to it. Again, I don't want to give to much away but it begins with a man from a small town in Alabama writing to one of the producers asking him to investigate a murder he believes happened in his town, what follows is the most incredible story that will have you listening to the episodes back to back to find out what happens next.

Finally I have some music suggestions all of which are albums that some of my favourite bands have released recently. The Shins released their fifth album Heartworms a couple of months ago and I've been loving it. I was completely obsessed with them after first hearing them back in 2004. I've only seem them play live once and I'm hoping they're going to play here during their Summer tour. I say they, it's mostly James Mercer as all the other original members of the band are no longer playing in the band. This album, much like the other two is definitely a bit of a grower for me. My favourite song so far is Fantasy Island.

Next up is the highly anticipated third album from Father John Misty, Pure Comedy. This took a few listens to 100% fall in love. I'd honestly listen to him sing the phone book but I'm really excited that he's done something very different compared to his first to albums and I feel like with every listen I'm getting so much more from it. The standout song for me is A Bigger Paper Bag which I am obsessed with.

The new album from Real Estate, In Mind, is the first without founding guitarist Matt Mondanile who has since gone on to form Ducktails (who I also love). Admittedly I haven't listened to this as much as the other two albums I've mentioned above but I've been loving this so far none the less.
Similarly to the Shins, the change in lineup has had an influence on the band's sound. The standout song for me so far is Two Arrows.

I hope you enjoyed my suggestions, please let me know if there's any films/music/TV you think I'd enjoy based on what I've shared here and let me know if you've seen or listened to any of the above and what you think.

I hope you're all having a lovely Easter Sunday!

Emma x

Here Lie The Broken Bones Of L.B. Jefferies

I wrote about Rear Window for my dissertation in college. I chose the topic of Style versus Substance in Hitchcock's films and I discussed Rear Window in one of my chapters. I already loved the film, it's definitely one of my all time favourites, I've seen it so many times and studied it in great detail and I still love it. 

If you haven't seen Rear Window, you probably know the storyline from the various pop culture references like The Simpsons Bart of Darkness episode as well as it's various remakes and "homages" like Brian de Palma's Body Double and more recently Disturbia. I can't remember exactly when I first saw it, but I'm pretty sure it was the second Hitchcock film I had seen, after Psycho. It must have also been the first film I saw with both Grace Kelly and James Stewart (swoon!). Re-watching the film recently I was reminded of my love for Grace Kelly.

When I was a kid my mam had books and magazines about her and I was always so intrigued by her as both an actress and a woman. I'm sure my interest as a young girl was due to the fact that she was a real life Princess and wore the most stunning clothes. Her wardrobe in Rear Window was designed by Edith Head and in the film she wears one of my all time favourite dresses in cinema, the black and white one from her introductory scene. What I wouldn't give to have my own version! Rear Window is worth watching for her costumes alone.

When I was researching for my dissertation I read all about the making of the film and the amount of detail that went into the production. The set was the largest to date and they even excavated the floor to accommodate all of the apartments featured in the set. No matter how many times I watch it I'm always impressed by the scale of the set. I love how we see little glimpses into Jeff's neighbours lives and how each of his neighbours represents the different feelings he has about his relationship with Lisa.

In conclusion I will say if you haven't seen Rear Window, get on that. I don't think anyone could not like it.

What's your favourite Hitchcock film?

Emma x