An Education

This is the recent film based on Lynn Barber's book about 16-year-old Jenny and her life when she gets swept off her feet by a much older man in the early 1960s.

Carey Mulligan was excellent as Jenny (her BAFTA was well-deserved and I'm sure as she was relatively unknown before, she will get many more acting jobs after this) and was supported by some other great actors including Alfred Molina as her father who seems to have something bad to say about everything, but really only wants what's best for her. Other actors in the cast include Emma Thompson, Rosamund Pike and Dominic Cooper (Sky from Mamma Mia).

I thoroughly enjoyed it and would definitely recommend it.

Ivo Neame - Jazz

Tonight I saw the Ivo Neame Quartet at the Southbank Centre as part of 'Friday Tonic'.

The band consisted of a vibraphone player, a bass player, a pianist and a drummer. They were all seriously good musicians and they did lots of improvising which was very impressive.

I found that I generally prefer listening to more structured jazz but it was really good and the Southbank Centre is such a lovely place to be.

http://www.ivoneame.com/

New Wimbledon Theatre Centenary Open Day

On Wednesday I went to the open day at the New Wimbledon Theatre.
There were many different things taking place including a 1920s Dance Workshop, stage make-up demonstrations and an open rehearsal which were the activities I took part in.
I expected the dance workshop to be really popular, but in the end only three people turned up! We learnt a routine to the song 'Won't you Charlston' and then performed it on the stage in the auditorium. This was my favourite part of the day.

Then I went to see a stage make-up demonstration where a lady showed how bruises, cuts and spots are created. She even made my friend (a girl) look like she had a beard and moustache!

Lastly I went to an open rehearsal of the play 'Tipping Point'. It turned out that the actors and writer had just come down to the studio to see the space that they will be performing in and they didn't do anything from the play. I met one of the actors, Susan Jameson (Esther from New Tricks) who was lovely, and the writer, Simon Lys, who explained that the play is 'an artistic take on some global issues'. If you're interested in seeing it, it's on at the New Wimbledon Studio from 28th April - 1st May at 7:45pm. Box Office: 0844 871 7646

The day was really enjoyable and I think it will be on again next year.

New Moon - Film

New Moon, the second in the Twilight Saga

Overall I liked it, it's pretty similar to Twilight but enjoyable. I found when reading the books that it is very plot-driven, not particularly well written, but can be quite gripping. There was a little bit of dodgy acting from Kristen Stewart (Bella) but she was mostly good. Stewart and Robert Pattinson (Edward) mumbled the whole way through though and I often struggled to understand what they were saying.

Michael Sheen was very good as Aro, one of the leaders of the Volturi. There is also an appearance from Dakota Fanning as Jane, another of the Volturi, but she barely says anything. She will probably do more in the next film.

I wasn't blown away buy the film, but that is probably because of my expectations as a result of the hype about it.

If you like anything to do with vampires and werewolves, then this is what you'll like!

Nacho Libre

Nacho Libre is a film written by Jack Black and Mike White (the same team who did School of Rock, a classic for my generation) about a wanna-be Spanish wrestler who is supposed to be a monk.

It is very funny, although it needs to suit your sense of humour. My favourite bit is when Jack Black is singing a song that he 'wrote in the wilderness'.
He sings:
"I ate some bugs, I ate some grass, I used my hand to wipe my tears..."

The plot is very predictable but it is a funny, feel-good film.

The Lovely Bones - Book

About a month ago, I read the book The Lovely Bones by Alice Sebold.

Here is the blurb:
This is Susie Salmon, speaking from heaven - which looks a lot like her school playground, with the good kind of swing sets, counsellors to help newcomers adjust, and friends to room with. Everything Susie wants appears as soon as she thinks of it - except the one thing she wants most: to be back with the people she loved on earth.

Watching from her place in heaven, Susie sees her happy, suburban family devastated by her death, isolated even from one another as they each try to cope with their terrible loss alone. Over the years, her friends and siblings grow up, fall in love, do all the things she never had the chance to do herself. But life is not quite finished with Susie yet...

I found that it is a very good book. The emotions are depicted in a way that is almost poetic and I'm sure many people who have read the book and have had to cope with loss have been able to identify with it. Don't be put off by the first chapter, which is a bit gruesome, because it becomes unputdownable.

Unfortunately I found that although the first half is brilliant, in the second half it seemed to run out of steam, and quite late in the book an event occurs that I thought was a bit naff and made it less believable.

The book is a number one bestseller and has been made into a film directed by Peter Jackson, who directed Lord of the Rings. I have not seen the film, but heard that the reviews were not that good.

I do recommend this book - the idea is excellent and the reviews are too. It is quite gritty, but powerful. (If you like gritty stories, you should watch/read Revolutionary Road by Richard Yates. I haven't read the book, but I have the seen the film, directed by Sam Mendes and starring Kate Winslet and Leonardo Di Caprio. It is about the breakdown of a marriage and is very powerful indeed. Or if you love less gritty and more sad films, you should watch The Notebook or The Time Traveller's Wife, both starring Rachel McAdams, who was Regena in Mean Girls.)

Here are some of the reviews from the book cover of The Lovely Bones:
The Times: 'Compulsive enough to read in a single sitting, brilliantly intelligent, elegantly constructed and ultimately intriguing'
Daily Mail: 'That rare thing, a debut novel that takes the stuff of terrible tragedy and manages to transform it into something hopeful and redemptive...Alice Sebold's words are strung together like the most delicate of charm bracelets. This book will stay with you long after you finish the last page.'

Gavin and Stacey Series 1

Got the first series of Gavin and Stacey from Lovefilm (http://www.lovefilm.com/welcome/home.html it's sooo good) recently. I'd never really watched it before but I found that if you watch more than one episode so that you know the characters and what's going on, it's really brilliant. It's very funny but can also be quite sad, such as when Stacey reads a letter from her deceased dad.

The cast is fab, but for me the highlight is Rob Brydon as Bryn, Stacey's uncle. His clothes are hilarious and he always tries to be friends with everyone but to advise people about what is right for them.

I really recommend it, I will definitely be watching the second series soon.