Magic Mike XXL | film review

Quick disclaimer - If you haven't seen the film and are yet to see it then I would wait until after watching the film to read this. I don't want to spoil anything for you!!

Hello!!

After having such fabulous weather all throughout June and the beginning of July, these past couple of days have been a little dull. It is frustrating because where I live the sky is full of grey clouds and it always looks as if it is going to rain, but the temperature is still so warm!

But in any case I thought that I would take this opportunity to sit and do a film review. My sister and I spent the day together shopping, and agreed to go and see Magic Mike XXL at the cinema. (Although she was a little reluctant to see it and I had to drag her along, but we won't mention that!(; )

I remember seeing the first Magic Mike film in the cinema when I was around 16/17 years old and then I wasn't very much of a critical judge so I enjoyed it despite the weird yellow wash they had on all the scenes and the badly written script. But now I'm 20 and after being at university for a couple of years, I find that my mind has expanded further and I am more prone to having opinions for and against certain things. I never used to be much of an opinionated person before. But even today I still enjoy watching the film now because it's a good laugh and hey - who doesn't want to watch Channing Tatum, Alex Pettyfer and Matthew Mcconaughey strip naked and dance?!(;

If you have not seen Magic Mike then the story follows a man who's an engineer by day creating his own furniture wanting to set up his own business, and stripper by night. Magic Mike XXL is set 2/3 years after the first film and Mike (Channing Tatum) has his own furniture business running, but after a reunion with his stripper friends, they decide to go on a road trip to Myrtle Beach to perform at the stripper convention. Although Mike is a retired stripper he cannot refuse the excitement of going back to the old days. The film follows them on the road and the many stops on the way to Myrtle Beach.

The film didn't have the weird yellow wash through the day scenes like it did in the first one and I enjoyed it for what it was. It was fun, outrageous and had me giggling fro beginning to end. The dance scenes were brilliant and were very entertaining.

However I still think that the script was extremely poorly written and a lot of it I found was hard to follow. For example their speeches were terrible and there is pretty much a "f*ck" and a "sh*t" every other word. It was difficult to understand the character's feelings and connect with them because it was hard to actually understand what they were saying.

Another thing was that the film didn't do a great job of was introducing new characters. In one scene Mike meets a girl called Zoe (Amber Heard) and in this meeting you can't even see her face because it is completely shadowed out by the dark skies. So you know Mike has met this new girl but you don't know what she looks like until he meets her again later on. And even then it isn't evidently clear at first that she is the same girl he met on the beach.

Another thing that caught me out was when Mike sees Rome (Jada Pinkett Smith) who turns out to be his ex lover he walked away from. But the audience does not find this out until after they kiss when they first see each other and she asks him why he's back. At first I thought it was someone he knew from the first film that I missed or perhaps a manager or something. It was very unclear until their love was briefly mentioned in passing.

The final thing that was a little confusing and very lightly (and lazily) touched upon was a woman they meet towards the end (Elizabeth Banks) who they asked if she would allow them to take part in the stripper convention. They know her and she knows them but you never find out how. And there's this strong chemistry between Banks' and Smith's character that just by the sight of her, she lets them into the convention. You know nothing about their relationship nor do you ever find out who she actually is. She is just there for the sake of it I feel.

I found this all very confusing and I remember getting the same vibe from the first film. But altogether despite the poor language and script, it was enjoyable. The dance scenes were brilliant and the whole film was a good laugh. The innuendos were enough to make anyone giggle.

Was it a waste of money? No. If I hadn't enjoyed it then it would have but I was happy to have watched it despite it's faults. But that's all down to my own opinion.

If you have seen either Magic Mike films I would love to know what was your opinion on it and to see if anyone has the same as me or completely different. Lets discuss.

Goodbye for now!

Yours, Georgia x

Adventures | London and the British Museum

Hello there!

Before starting this blog I knew that I wanted to have a stream of posts talking about my travelling adventures so I thought I would start off with my day trip to London with dad last Friday.

I find myself going up to London quite a lot, especially with mum where we like to go up, have a nose around the shops before queueing up in Leicester Square to get some half price last minute tickets to see a West End show. I haven't been up to London with dad since before Christmas so we thought we'd go up again and dad had an interest in seeing the British museum.

We started the day with getting an early morning train to London and we arrived at Waterloo around 11ish. Then after trying to squeeze through the hustle and bustle of the station, dad and I took the first underground tube to Tottenham Court Road. From there we stopped at the first Cafe Nero we passed for a spot of brunch.

At first I didn't really know what to expect from the British Museum - I've been to many museums in London so I wasn't too sure how different this was going to be from the others. But I can admit that this museum isn't exactly specialised in one thing: it's a mix of everything in history, going across the ancient Greeks and Romans to the Victorian era. 

However as much as what we saw was interesting, dad and I didn't know exactly what we were looking for and we got very lost very quickly. There probably was a route to follow that takes you from one end of the building to the other, but we took our own route and found that we weren't exactly going in chronological order.

Despite getting lost, I found it interesting for what it was.

"Don't blink!"

It was round about lunch time by the time we left the museum and to our luck there was a little corner pub on the other side of the road called The Museum Tavern where we stopped for a drink and lunch.

After lunch dad and wondered how we were going to spend the rest of the day. We took a walk towards Leicester Square, passing all the theatres and decided that we should go and see a film in one of the many cinemas there. We stopped in a couple of stores along the way including Forbidden Planet where dad bought me a Captain America mug and a fancy dress hire store called Angels. But outside one of the cinemas in Leicester Square, I found my very own idol's hand prints on the ground outside one of the cinemas: Dame Judi Dench!! It was enough for me to fangirl over it and get dad to take a photo of me with it. And beside Judi was John Hurt.

Out of all the screenings dad and I looked at, we decided to watch Terminator Genisys in IMAX. There was a bit of a wait before the film started so dad and I went to one of the pubs for another pint. Now neither of us have seen anything in IMAX before so we didn't know what to expect.

But it was weird. I mean crazily weird because throughout the film it genuinely felt like I was there in the scene. I found myself flinching every time there was an explosion or something was flying in my direction. But IMAX is incredible - incredibly expensive but seriously incredible in effects! We had to wear 3D glasses that were a little uncomfortable after the first half hour. It was shown on a large screen and no matter where you sat in the cinema, it felt like the actors were standing directly in front of you.

I admit this right now but I haven't actually seen any of the Terminator films from start to finish. I know I have watched the first half of one of the older films (I don't even know which one it was) but they've never really caught my attention. However this one I really enjoyed. It sat comfortably in the middle of having enough action and an entertaining storyline, despite the Hollywood clichés (which I do love!). I won't give too much away about the film but the extra clip during the credits more or less gave you a hint that there may be another film coming up.

I think the weirdest part was walking back through Leicester 

Square after seeing IMAX. It was so surreal to take in the buildings around me and the people we passed. Dad and I found ourselves laughing as we tried to get out bearings back!

And soon the day ended with us heading back to Waterloo station and jumping back on the first train home.

I love having regular day trips up to London whether it's spontaneous or planned out and this one was a good day. Especially as the weather held out for us!

But that's it for me now! I hope that if anyone reads this - anyone out there - enjoyed reading this post. And if you're in denial on seeing the new Terminator film then I can safely say that it'll be worth your money!

Hope you have a lovely weekend and I'll be back next week with a new post. I'm thinking a review is in order!

Goodbye for now!

Yours, Georgia x

June Favourites | Neverneverlandwonders

Hello there! 

I have been introduced to many fabulous things this month which I wish to share with you in this post! I will begin with the beauty side before I move on to anything else so here goes! (I have linked all the products to its price so you can have a look at their description on the store's website.)


Tom Ford correcting pen: $44

I have been looking for a make up corrector for a long time now. I wanted to find one that I can keep in my handbag with me when I'm out of the house and I have time to quickly correct any smudges in my make up that appear as the day wears on. I was lucky to find the Tom Ford correcting pen 01. It really blends well with my skin perfectly and it lasts a long time too! The pen has two ends to it, one end thicker than the other so it is useful for any type of make up mistake. And yes I understand that it is a bit pricey but out of all the other correcting pens I have come across, none of them have been as good as this one so I do recommend this!

L'Oreal Infallible foundation 015: £9.99

I treated myself to a new foundation last week using all the money I have saved up on my Boots advantage card. Just like the correcting pen, for me it's hard to find a suitable foundation it suit my pale complexion. I find the foundation can either make me look ghostly and almost unhealthily pale and some just make me look like an orang-utan. So you can guess that I've had fun battling with many different foundations! But it feels like this one just fell from heaven saying "hey, I'm perfect." Haha no but I'm serious. I have finally met my match! It's the L'Oreal Paris 'Infallible 24 hour' liquid foundation. It blends so easily into your skin whether you rub it in with your fingers or use a brush. It's in the 015 colour and that was the lightest colour they had in store, but it does not make me look like a ghost - or ill. It makes my skin tone look even which is a first! So I have definitely been obsessing over this since I bought it.

Lush Vanilla Puff: £4.95

Sometimes I tend to forget that there is more to Lush then their shower gels and bath bombs! As much as I adore the store I do find myself walking out with only bath bombs, forgetting that they have a range of loads of other products too! I was given the Vanilla Puff for my birthday this year, along with a load of other Lush products, and I have been using it a lot since. It's this soft powder that you just rub into your body whenever you wish and it leaves your skin feelings silky smooth. And you smell of sweet vanilla which is a bonus! I tend to put this on every night before I go to bed and every morning I always find that my skin is still smooth as ever. I'm sure I will be getting more of this once I've finished the bottle!


Clinique clarifying lotion 4: £16.50

Now my skincare routine usually follows the pattern of cleansing, toning and moisturising every morning. I use the Nivea lotion for normal skin which I have used for many years because I can't find any other moisturisers that can beat it. But for cleansing I often used the Clinique Clarifying Lotion 2 but I wanted a slight change in dynamics and I wanted to experiment and try something different. So I picked up the Clarifying Lotion 4 which is mainly for greasy skin. But it was about a week or so after I started using that that In noticed that this product really has done WONDERS to my skin! I mean I feel that it's cleaned my skin so well and especially around my T-zone where I usually find spots. The only downside to this cleanser is that I'm not exactly fond of the smell. I don't really know what it is but there's quite a strong smell to it which I don't really like but it goes as soon as I apply toner and moisturiser. I always turn to Clinique for skincare routines as they're a very good brand and I would recommend this to anyone with greasy skin that are trying to find a good cleanser.

Body Shop 'Atlas Mountain Rose' body butter: £13.00

I am a huge fan of the Body Shop and every so often I like to indulge myself in trying out all their body butters. During the summer I find I like all things that smell like roses and I could not walk away from the shop without at least buying their Atlas Mountain Rose body butter. And it smells DIVINE! It truly smells like roses and like all Body Shop body butters it's kind to your skin. The tub is also very pretty. I tend to put this on every time I come out of the bath and I enjoy spending the rest of the evening smelling like a rose garden.

Marc Jacobs Daisy Dream 30ml: £38.50

I have been after this perfume since I first saw it advertising in Boots before it was released. I remember having a small tester and I used that up quickly. But my parents bought me the 30ml bottle for my birthday and I have more or less been wearing this every day since. It's such a sweet spring/summer smell to it and I find that it tends to last the whole day. I also simple adore the bottle it's so pretty and I can't even bring myself to throw away the box either! Such a lovely little treat!

Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell by Susanna Clarke

I was first intrigued by this when I watched the trailer on the television of the BBC adaptation. The trailer seemed fun and it was great to have something good come back on. I was hooked after watching the first episode and by the third or fourth episode, I wanted to read the book. I was lucky to see that my sister had a copy of the novel and she let my borrow it to read. And like the TV show I was hooked on the book right from the first page. I won't go into too much detail about the plot or the difference between the book and the TV show as I plan to do another blog post all about it. However I will say that the book has most definitely jumped up in my top 5 favourite novels and I finished it the day the final episode was aired.

Once Upon a Time

My final monthly favourite it the American TV show Once Upon a Time. I was first introduced to this by my friends from university who constantly talked about it. I was curious as to see what was all the hype about so I started watching it and now just starting season 3, I can't get enough of it! It's everything I love about a TV show. It's the perfect blend of fairytale and reality and all the characters are so easily likeable - even the evil characters I find I still like them! It's a real fun show open for everyone to see.

So there you have it: my first monthly favourites! I'm not sure if this will be a blog post I will do every month unless I discover a load of new things every month, but it will all depend. I hope you've all enjoyed this post and I'll see you all again soon.

Goodbye for now!

Yours, Georgia x

My 'Wreck This Journal'

I bought my Wreck This Journal about a year ago when I felt at a lost and despite being halfway through my first year at university, I felt that my creativity motivation left me. I thought that perhaps having a different task to do on each page would bring my creativity back to life and I am so glad that it has. I have seen so many brilliant art work other people have done with their Wreck This Journal on Instagram, Tumblr and Twitter and seeing everyone else's creativity really inspired me a great deal.

"If you hear a voice inside you say, 'you cannot paint', then by all means paint, and that voice will be silenced." - Vincent Van Gogh

So I thought that I would take the liberty of showing you what I have done in my Wreck This Journal so far. I haven't completed many pages as I have struggled to find the time to actually sit down and make art. But I am happy with what I have done so far and I look forward to what I do next.

Pour, spill, drip, spit, fling your coffee here.

This is my most recent page I did a couple of weeks ago on a Sunday afternoon. Seeing as Alice's Adventure's in Wonderland is one of my favourite novels and that I love this Disney's version, I couldn't resist but base this page on the Mad Hatter's tea party. I sketched the pictures by hand before colouring in with water colour pencils (I was debating to turn it into a water colour page but I like it just as it is) and outlined everything with a blank ink pen. I then painted the background with tea, just so I was still obeying the title of the page...slightly!

Climb up high. Drop the journal.

I was inspired to do this page after I went to see The Amazing Spiderman 2 in the cinema last year. I am yet to mention that I am in fact a huge Marvel fan and take on a lot of love for the Avengers (especially Captain America!) but Spiderman hasn't been a superhero I hugely favoured. But all the same I LOVED the film - preferring to the first Amazing Spiderman movie. I was quite happy with the outcome of this page as I started drawing it out on a whim.

Do a really ugly drawing.

I wanted to use the idea of drawing an "ugly" picture metaphorically and I was drawn to the idea of the Hunchback of Notre Dame. Taking the quote Quasimodo shouts to Claude Frollo from the Disney film: "All my life you have told me that the world is a dark, cruel place. But now I see that the only thing dark and cruel about it is people like you!" I came up with the idea because Quasimodo was brought up into the world believing that he is a monster and therefore must never be seen by anyone in the city of Paris because they would only be afraid of his looks. I thought that I would draw Quasimodo showing that despite his upbringing, he has a soft, warming heart as he helps the bird take its first flight. This is possibly my favourite page so far.

Pretend you are doodling on the back of an envelope.

I had the idea to do this page since I first got my Wreck This Journal and I eventually completed it last summer on one of my days off. I used water colour to recreate the cover of the edition of Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone that I own. Then using my fountain pen, I wrote out the letter Hogwarts sent Harry.

Make a paper chain

At first I didn't really know what I wanted to do with it so I just improvised as a test. I am yet to cut it out and make it into a paper chain but I think I like it just as it is. I decided to make it personal by adding certain things to each section that I have a strong interest in. I thought that I would add "take what you need" at the top just to add a little extra touch to it.

And so that is all I have of my Wreck This Journal so far. I have many other ideas to fill in some of the other pages, so once I have done more, I will probably write another post like this to show what I did and reasons behind them. I hope you enjoyed this post and for any of you reading this that have also added to your Wreck This Journal, I would love to see your creative ideas!

Goodbye for now1

Yours, Georgia x

Edmund Cooper's "All Fool's Day" | Book review

Now this isn't a book I would usually pick up off the shelf with an interest in reading it, but with the three months of summer holiday I have before I'm due to return to university, I thought that I would like to spend this time reading books I have not read before.

Dad recommended this to me about a year ago and it's been sitting on my bookshelf for long enough, so I thought that it deserves a read!

This particular edition is a Coronet Books edition published in 1973 but you can get other copies from Amazon for a good price here.

The story follows the character Matthew Greville during the 1970s and early 1980s. He is the first suicide attempt victim from the sudden Omega Radiation tragedy from the sun. The reader learns in the first couple of chapters that the 1970s sees a near wipe out of mankind as the Omega Radiation triggers the human mind to want to commit suicide, which eventually kills off most of the human population. Greville is one of many survivors from this radiation and the story continues to follow him as he tries to survive the new ways of living.

To begin with, the novel really haunted me over the aspect of the radiation but all the same it made me curious as to the way in which the characters live their lives. Every so often I couldn't help that despite the storyline, Cooper added a little comical effect when describing certain moments. And despite the dark intentions throughout the novel, it started to become a little hopeful towards the end, but the little twist at the end does bring the reader back down to reality (although I won't give away too much!!)

I would recommend this to anyone who enjoys science fiction novels that aren't always about space and aliens. However if you're a very squeamish person then this probably isn't the best book to read quietly on a Sunday afternoon...some moments are very graphic!

I hope you've enjoyed reading this review (it is my first one) and that I might have inspired some of you to read it if you haven't yet!

I will be back with a new post for you next week.

Goodbye for now!

Yours, Georgia x

Hello there!

So after having many long debates with myself on whether or not I should start this blog (debates and thoughts I have been thinking for the past few months) I've finally had the time to sit down and just write. For this particular post I don't exactly know anything I wish to say other than hello! I've finally stepped into the blogging world!

I do have many blogs I hope to start writing up soon and hope that you may enjoy reading them as much as I will enjoy writing them.

This blog will be filled with different aspects of my life that I wish to share with the world. I hope to tell you all about my experiences in life, whether it's travelling, going into the working world, and for me, the most important of all: surviving my final year at university. In the meantime I may throw in a few reviews of books I have read, films I have seen and make up, skincare routines, and beauty products I use. It'll be a mixture of everything.

I will start with a new post tomorrow reviewing a science fiction novel I have just finished - but I will reveal what it is all tomorrow.

Goodbye for now!
Yours, Georgia x