Category: Movies

Movies · October 2015 · Videos

Happy Back to the Future Day feat. 2015 is boring

FrancescaLeave a comment

I was born in 1995, not 1989, so I’ve only had 20 years to get ready for Back to the Future day… or 10 years or so if you consider that until my parents showed my brother and I the films, we hadn’t a clue what a DeLorean was. It still flipping crept up though! Like I swear ten minutes ago it was 2006 and I was planning to make a functional hover board in time for this very day… the only things I’ve made since then have been acceptable grades and a Twitter account.

Still, you lot in your 30s upwards have no excuse. Where are the hover boards in the mass market? Why don’t my shoelaces ties themselves up? Why can’t my microwave rehydrate pizza?  And, most importantly, why the fuck is there no holographic Jaws 19? On reflection I shouldn’t complain too much, having seen the Jaws sequels they did do, and we’re getting Star Wars soon, which makes up for it all… In fact, with The Force Awakens, Bush versus Clinton, Jurassic Park, and Terminator, there’s probably not a lot of point bemoaning the lack of self-tying laces, because aside from letting the gays get married and Universal growing a sense of humour, shit doesn’t seem to have changed for 30 years.

And on that note, I have to go write an article about Halloween. Enjoy today, snowflakes, because when you show your grandchildren the trilogy they’re going to freak out that you were alive in 2015…

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July 2015 · Movies

Saturday Morning Movies

FrancescaLeave a comment

Yesterday I made iced hot chocolate and I think it’s fair to say that frappes might have to take a back seat from being my most worshipped summer beverage.

Hot chocolate. On ice.

I really have to go and shower in a bit, because I’m going out to a do this afternoon which means I really ought to wash my hair and find clean clothes that match clean underwear and all of that stuff you forget exists on Saturday mornings during impromptu viewings of You’ve Got Mail on Sky Movies.

Have you guys seen You’ve Got Mail? I’ve only ever seen it in bits and pieces on TV. It’s great, because it’s one of those films that could only have been made when it was made… these days everyone Googles everyone, email is not the extent of the Internet and, well, there aren’t that many bookshops.

It also makes me really want to open a little bookshop.

All right I’m running out of excuses not to sort myself out. Maybe I should get myself a pen friend or something…

Complaints · Fuckin' Idiots · Indifferent Ignorance · May 2015 · Movies · Videos

Enduring Idiocies Legacies

Francesca1 Comment

I get more and more like a middle-aged lady every year, but I’m just going to go ahead and ask how it is that it’s May already. I think it was January last week? And Firework Night?

There was a spectacular show of indifferent ignorance on the radio this morning, with presenters from the Today programme asking people if they were voting… some didn’t know who the Prime Minister is. I can’t really complain about that because they do in fact all look the same. But still, Mr Apathetic Citizen, has it not occurred to you that by not voting you have no right to complain about any sort of governmental process? You say that politics doesn’t affect you but that’s just ’cause you don’t know anything about it. Have a sniff around and I’m pretty sure you’ll discover the odd law that dictates your life.

Speaking of laws, I finally watched this film:

(Well I watched it twice because I rented it from the library and I like to get my money’s worth support local services.) It was funnier than I thought it would be… most civil rights-esque stories make me want to cry and throw things. Well I did get a bit sniffly but what was really funny – and I mean this in every interpretation of the word – was that the people who spewed homophobic bullshit in the 1970s are completely identical to the people who spew it now.

It was like when I listened to MLK’s I Have a Dream Speech and kept thinking of Ferguson. A lot of good things have happened in the last three or four decades, but it seems unlikely that the world will ever be completely rid of fuckin’ idiots.

On the plus side, this Thursday we might be able to remove a few of them from public office. I don’t hold out much hope for electing anyone better though… that shit’s stayed in the ’70s.

February 2015 · Food · Holidays · Movies

Spring is Springing… or limping towards us, at any rate.

FrancescaLeave a comment

How was everyone’s Valentine’s Day? I hung out with my friends and ate chili, which was more of an event-that-happened-to-be-on-Valentine’s than an actual celebration. It was probably a lot more fun than some people’s though… imagine you proposed and the person said no? Imagine you turned up at their house to surprise them and they were with someone else? Imagine you went out the week after and stocked up on half price chocolates?

I’m heading out soon so might not have to imagine that at all… thankfully I have zero issues with eating confectionery declaring someone’s love. I love me, and me loves chocolate.

God, what a sentence. Still, Valentine’s being over means that spring is on its way! The darkness of February will soon give way to light evenings, birdsong and leaving the house without four layers! The sun’s out today and everything! I’ve painted my nails for the first time in forever, and I’ve been spring cleaning my room. Well, I actually took some doors off a cabinet, put a shelf in then put the doors back on, and haven’t put anything on the shelves yet – but it’s a start, innit.

I must be excited, I’ve overdone the pink again. All I need is to see some lambs trotting about and I’ll explode.

From yahooentertainment.tumblr.com
From yahooentertainment.tumblr.com

Until the lambs start appearing, Groot will more than suffice.

History & Old Stuff · January 2015 · Movies

Forgetting Weekends…

FrancescaLeave a comment

It’s been a strange few days… I drafted most of a post about everything going on with Charlie Hebdo, but I felt like I was going round in angry, bitter circles with very little productive or useful content, so it’ll stay a draft for now.

Let’s just keep on doing what we do, yeah?

My research for the Saving Face topics is well underway, and I’m also working on new stories, which makes me feel superduper productive.

From chrisprattings.tumblr.com
From chrisprattings.tumblr.com

In fact, last Saturday I forgot it was Saturday and tried to get up to work as normal. I couldn’t work out why the dogs were snoozing. I felt like I was in the groove, work ethic wise.

Also from chrisprattings.tumblr.com
Also from chrisprattings.tumblr.com. Someone’s a fan.

It’s almost a week later and I still am even though it’s January and traditionally I should be completely miserable and drowning in a winter cold. I probably will end up with some sort of lurgie, actually, but for now I’m smug and that’s what’s important. Plus, since seeing that film Unbroken on new year’s day (should that be capitalised?) I don’t feel like I can complain about a self-imposed work load.

I mean, have you guys seen Unbroken? It was like watching Die Hard or Rocky or any other macho action movie except for two important differences: a) there were no swooning maidens to sleep with the hero in a hotel part way through and b) the reason there were no swooning maidens was that the film was 100% true. All of it.

Every scene.

Well, maybe every scene, but there were no plot embellishments for dramatic effect. I don’t even want to tell you what happens, because I want you to see it and think “holy shit how did this guy live to be 97?” But he did.

So it’s not a big deal to forget it’s Saturday.

If any of you have any contributions to the Saving Face project, let me know!

December 2014 · Movies · Videos

Reality TV and Smaug Being a Diva

FrancescaLeave a comment

I don’t know about you lot, but I am both nervous and excited for the Strictly Come Dancing results show tonight. Possibly because sparkly dancing and bright lights are the best things ever, and partly because if the final is next week then Christmas is the week after.

Less than two weeks. 

I need to do some more shopping… and maybe get a haircut, and definitely write the Indifferent Ignorance Awards and partially move house and also do some rigorous physical exercise because I went out and ate my weight in food yesterday.

I was so full when I got home that I couldn’t manage my advent chocolate, which is always a sign that I need to bust out some dance moves and the hula hoop. Still, the reason for the food was justified:

I didn’t go out to watch a YouTube video. But I did go see The Battle of Five Armies (“oh my goodness Francesca I can’t believe you made that connection!”) and it was brilliant so I might eschew everything else I have to do before Christmas and just go and read The Lord of the Rings, taking brief breaks to wonder if it’s possible for anyone else to create a fictional world that’s half as beautiful.

Let’s assume not.

(All Hail) Creation · Art · Fuckin' Idiots · Indifferent Ignorance · Movies · November 2014

A Simultaneous Piece of Art and Indifferent Ignorance

FrancescaLeave a comment

I’m still trying to get over the awfulness of Sunday’s blog title. I was very sleepy that day and struggled to think of anything smart, but still… I feel like the rockstar in that Private Eye sketch, and it’s icky.

Anyway, back to good vibes.

I noticed today that Indifferent Ignorance has had 1200 comments. About half of those are mine, because I try to respond to everyone, but that’s quite cool, especially because as of Sunday I had written 400 posts (wish I’d known that at the time).

I’ve also got about 100 drafts.

Cool huh.

Right, onto a simultaneous piece of art and indifferent ignorance! I’ve been thinking that I should share more art on here, and as it happens this piece is perfect. Basically I saw The Imitation Game on Sunday and it is brilliant and blew my mind both in terms of this dude pretty much invented the computer and civil rights were fucking bullshit back in the day.

'The Imitation Game' by Francesca

Just a thought.

PS At least i improved my watermarks.

Books · Films · Movies · Photogenius · September 2014

A Tourist’s Guide to Being a Tourist: Warner Bros. Studio Tour, Watford

Francesca4 Comments

I feel like I should blog because it’s Literacy Day or something and I’ve got some time to kill before a webinar later. I was going to have a shower so I could be all snuggly with my headphones on, but then I realised that snuggly usually equals sleepy and I’m supposed to be a professional.

Plus I really need to get some proper work points because I spent at least forty minutes today playing around with the customise options on WP and seriously considered making all the links here bright pink. Anyway, Literacy Day!

What’re you all reading at the moment?

I’m reading this:

HPATPS

Why, Francesca?

Well, I went somewhere rather special yesterday, and by rather special I mean a warehouse in Watford…

Privet Drive

Cool huh. I have about a billion photos, mostly of Hagrid animatronics and concept art and Diagon Alley. I was never that into the films because the screenwriting sort of ruined Hermione. It’s a good thing Emma Watson is a total sweetheart.

Yule Ball Set

She’s clearly also teeny tiny.

Since I’ve been to London a few times recently and am on a ‘gap year’ so am supposed to be getting life experience or whatever, I’ve decided to do a little review of my excursions so I can add reviews to my online copywriting profile.

Event and Place Warner Bros. Studio Tour, Watford.

Cost Insane. Tickets plus food plus batshit crazy priced merchandise. They had integrated Starbucks shops and really decent catering but a lot of people had taken picnics. Do that and spend a fiver on Butterbeer, which is foul.

Food See above. Plus nothing I ate made me puke, which was good.

Other people Go early to avoid the crowds. It’s such a popular place that it’s probably packed all the time, which was good in a way because it showed just how many demographics Harry Potter appeals to. There were people from all over the country, people from other countries, old people, families, couples, people with illnesses, deaf people (with sign language guides). 10/10 for people watching, 2/10 for geeking out in peace. It took about halfway round for me to fully process how much stuff I was seeing, and you can only go in one direction. I missed out on the details of loads of little artefacts and information because I’d think “I’ll just go and see X while the crowds are at Y” then I’d get distracted by Z. Take your time. Appreciate how flipping cool the art department was.

What else did I learn?

Well, the Dursleys’ hall carpet is the same as the one my grandparents used to have.

Harry's Cupboard

I might post more photos as and when, just to spring them on everyone in the hope that people dash onto the M25 and have a look for themselves. You don’t have to be a fan, but if you have any interest at all in any aspect of filmmaking, save your pennies and get on it!

Next up: either the Tower of London’s poppy art, a gallery in Fitzrovia or a James Bond exhibition. Wait. The webinar.