Category Archives: Going Off Topic

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Going Off Topic (#22) I Have Spoken!

It’s been quiet here this last week – partly because I haven’t watched any movies and partly because I’ve been playing The Witcher 3 far too much. It’s such a time sinker! I turn it on, tell myself I’ll only play for an hour, and before I know it I’m dropping to sleep in front of the screen because it’s 11pm and I haven’t stopped. It’s made me even more excited for the Netflix show but at the same time…Henry Cavill just isn’t my Geralt. We’ll see.

Last week I complained about Disney+ and well, let’s just say I watched the first episode of The Mandalorian anyway. In fact, by the time I publish this post I’ll have seen episode 2 as well. It’s SO GOOD. Like, better than I thought it could be. What is it with droids in Star Wars? They literally steal the show. IG-11 had me in stitches, I sure hope he can be fixed.

This weekend I’m seeing Last Christmas which I’m so excited about, despite the terrible reviews I saw on Twitter. I’m fairly sure The Report is out too so I’m going to have to stay away from games this weekend to squeeze it in.
(If it’s not blatantly obvious yet – I wrote this post last Friday expecting to post it over the weekend. I’ve seen Last Christmas. Haven’t stopped crying yet.)

In other blog news I need to highlight something that Dell at Dell on Movies is working on. For 5 years now Dell is hosting his annual Girl Week blogathon. It’s running from 25th November till 1st December and it’s all about celebrating women in the movie world. Last year I wrote a post highlighting the female directors of 2018, and I’m planning a very similar post again. Check out Dell’s announcement post here, and if you don’t follow him already, you really should!

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Going Off Topic (#21) Thanks, Disney

So the UK finally has a release date for Disney+. It’s 31st March 2020. Aca-scuse me? The END OF MARCH? The entire world will have watched The Mandalorian by that time. Thanks Disney, I’ll be resorting to finding other ways to watching your newest show and come April I’ll still probably end up signing up anyway. Sigh. People on Twitter are complaining that they have to watch MCU shows to fully understand the new movies whilst the UK is sat here wishing they actually could.

Moving swiftly on, welcome to the run-up to Christmas, AKA Adam Driver season! The Report comes out on 15th November, Marriage Story is released on 6th December, and of course Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker on 19th December. Us getting that one day early is the only reason I’m not raging about Disney+ to tell the truth.

You’ve probably noticed I’ve been a little more active around here this week, which is a habit I’m hoping to continue. It helps that there’s a ton of good movies on the horizon, awards season around the corner, and the end of year lists to make that are so much fun. Somewhere in between all of this is Christmas, too!

On Friday I posted my Blind Spot review for Chicago (2002) which you can read here if you missed it. It’s the first Blind Spot review I’ve posted since June, because it’s the first Blind Spot movie I’ve seen since then. The problem is, in December last year when I wrote the list, my July choice was American Beauty (1999), before the Kevin Spacey thing came to light. I don’t know what to do with it now. Do I still want to watch it? If I do, can I review it? Do I address the elephant in the room or ignore it? I try to stay light-hearted on the blog so it’s a tough one.

I’m more inclined to swap it out for a different movie for now and decide what to do later. I’ve tried to complete the Blind Spot Series challenge on 4 different occasions now and I mean to complete it this year. One movie I’ve had on my watch list for a while now is Black Swan (2010). Do you reckon that’s Blind Spot enough, or too recent?

Going Off Topic (#20) A Short Hiatus

I’m taking a break for a couple of weeks. Since I got back from holiday last month I’ve really struggled to stay active, and it’s led to me having a huge catch-up day of writing my own posts and reading everyone else’s posts, then feeling burnt out and staying away for 3-4 days at a time, only to play catch up again. It’s honestly starting to make blogging feel like a chore and I don’t want it to be that way!

I just feel so out of the loop at the moment, there are movies coming out in the cinema and on Netflix etc that I’ve never even heard of, and I’m usually so in the know. I just want to take a couple of weeks to get my head sorted and my personal life in check, and perhaps get a few posts drafted up ready for when I come back.

I’m far from giving up on my blog though, I absolutely adore it. I love logging in to see new comments, and reading other posts to add to my watch list!

There are a few new releases I’m really excited about. Zombieland: Double Tap comes out in the UK this week, I’m growing ever more impatient for Knives Out to be released, and we’re bound to be getting a Rise of Skywalker trailer soon! Speaking of which, we’re getting THREE Adam Driver movies before Christmas. So there’s that!

I’m trying to catch up on TV Shows, too. I gave up on Mr. Robot for a while but I’m working my way through Season 3, and I’m all caught up with Superstore now which I really enjoyed. Plus, we’re getting new episodes of The Good Place on Netflix so there’s a lot to look forward to.

My little girl turns two tomorrow. I’ve actually kept a little human alive for 2 whole years! Go me. She’s growing up into the funniest kid as well, she brings a smile to the face of anyone and everyone who meets her! The lucky little kid has 3 birthday cakes, too. She took one into nursery with her this morning to share with her friends, and they’re all going to sing happy birthday to her. Then we’ve got family over on Saturday evening so I bought a cake for that. On Sunday, she’s got her official party with her friends so there’s another cake for that!

But yeah. I’m sorry to up and leave for a while. But it’s taken me over 5 hours to even write this post, so I need to step back for a little bit. In the words of Arnie, “Put that cookie down, now!”

Err, I mean…I’ll be back.

Going Off Topic (#19) Jetlag is a B-word

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I’m baaaack! Oh boy, what a vacation! We had such a blast. Going away with a toddler is SO MUCH hard work but to see her little face so happy makes it all worth it. The jetlag hit us hard, though. We arrived back home on Saturday at 9pm, put the kiddo to bed at around 11pm…and she woke up for the day at 1am. Argh. Fingers crossed we’re close to getting back to a normal sleep schedule now, because I’m feeling like an extra from The Dead Don’t Die right now.

We had the best time, though. New York will always have a special place in my heart, and it’s impossible to not have fun when you’re in Disneyland! Like typical Brits we didn’t cope well with the heat on the hottest days but we were so blessed with the weather. Our little girl Daisy has decided that churros are life (can’t blame her) and given the chance, she would move to live on the beach.

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Just before we went away though, I’d fallen out of regular movie watching and struggled to write anything for the blog, but I’m feeling really excited to catch back up now! As soon as I can be confident of getting a good night’s sleep I’ll be racing to my local cinema to see It: Chapter Two, probably to be so scared that I won’t sleep again for another week.

I hope you guys are all doing well, and I’ll be catching up with all the blogs I follow this week!

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Going Off Topic (#18) Summer Lovin’

I’ve been so active on the blog for a few months and yet I haven’t posted anything for a week. You know why? I haven’t watched a movie for a week! Can you believe it?! It’s down to two things. The first being the UK had a bit of a heatwave and I honestly almost melted. The other being I got sucked into the reality show Love Island which took away all of my almost non-existent free time. The final is tonight though so I’m hoping to get back into a regular schedule this week!

What’s coming up next month though is…my 30th Birthday! Urgh. I’m going to be 30. It feels weird to be hitting that milestone age but yet I don’t feel too badly about it. I’m married, I have a gorgeous and hilarious little toddler, we have a house and mortgage, and I feel fairly accomplished with that. Any chance of a career has been pushed aside but hey – you can’t have it all!

So on my 30th Birthday, 23rd August, I’ll be flying out on holiday with said husband and toddler, as well as my parents and littlest brother, to the USA! We’re going to New York for 4 nights and then over to California for 10 nights to do Disney, Universal and chill at the beaches. I honestly can’t wait. I obviously won’t be on the blog for those 2 weeks but I’ve got some of my reviews from my older blog scheduled so at least there will be something posted from here regularly whilst I’m gone.

In other news, I’m almost finished with S3 of Stranger Things. It’s been a slow start and I don’t think it’s better than S2 (yet!) but there have been some amazing moments so far, like Daddy Hopper and the antics at Scoops Ahoy. I’ve heard it ends with a bang so I’m looking forward to it! I’ve also made a start on S2 of Big Little Lies which is looking promising so far.

The cinema releases seem to be unusually quiet for this time of year, but I’m chalking that up to no one wanting to release anything at the same time as The Lion King. I might venture out to see The Current War just for the cast, but other than that there’s nothing worth seeing until this weekend when Hobbs & Shaw comes out! I’ve only seen 2 of the Fast & Furious movies but Hobbs & Shaw looks like so much fun – I can’t wait!

So thanks for bearing with me while I haven’t been around – I’ll be catching up real soon!

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Going Off Topic (#17) The Longest Weekend

I’m currently struggling with my April pick for the Blind Spot Series, but I’m determined to see it through. I’m not seeing End Game until Tuesday night so I don’t have any movies to review in full right now, so it seemed like the perfect opportunity to throw together an Off Topic post and ramble about what’s going on lately.

You’re all reviewing End Game and I’m trying SO HARD to stay away from spoilers. I promise I’ll visit everyone else’s posts as soon as I’ve seen it! Plus there’s the GoT Battle for Winterfell on Sunday night which I won’t be able to watch until Monday and this weekend is going to be so painfully long! If I make it to Tuesday night without seeing spoilers for either of these huge events I’ll be amazed.

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So what’s going on, anyway? My baby girl turned into a toddler without me even realising. The kid is hilarious – I don’t know where she gets it from. She’s obsessed with pirates and holds her arm up with an ‘ARGHHH’ whenever her favourite show is on. She knows where her belly is and isn’t shy about telling (and showing!) anyone. She runs so fast on her little legs I can’t quite believe it, and she’s clumsy as hell. Poor thing is going to be one of those kids that’s always covered in scabs.

My TV watching time has obviously dwindled drastically, but I finally gave in to my family’s nagging and started Mr. Robot. It’s one of those shows I’ve been tempted by for ages but never took the plunge. I was hooked in the first 5 minutes but man is it tough to follow. It took me a whole season to realise that not understanding what’s going on is actually part of the experience. I’m nearly at the end of season 2 now!

And of course, I’m keeping up with Game of Thrones. I haven’t loved the last 3 seasons but when you’ve invested so much time in a show you have to see it through. I went into this new season cautiously, but seeing all these beloved characters come together has warmed my cold heart, and I’m genuinely terrified for the next episode. Someone I love is going to get killed off, I just know it. I want Arya, Brienne, Gendry, Jorah, and so many others to live to the end and my heart is going to be broken.

Even more of my precious free time is being eaten up by the Remastered Assassin’s Creed III. I don’t play many games anymore but Connor”s story was my absolute favourite in the entire series and I’ve loved being able to replay this game. I’ve been torn between taking my time and enjoying it and blasting through the story as quickly as possible!

So until Tuesday night, I’ll be keeping off Twitter, Instagram (who am I kidding) and Facebook, and I’ll be back in full force very soon!

Going Off Topic (#16) What Up, Dingdongs?

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I’m giving myself a pat on the back for posting regularly throughout the whole of January, but I’ve had a bit of a dry weekend and so in the hope on continuing my regular posts throughout February, today is the perfect time for an Off Topic ramble!

I finally watched Green Book (2018) last week and was actually pleasantly surprised. Perhaps it was my low expectations after reading a lot of reviews but I really enjoyed it. It had that perfect mix of seriousness and entertainment that I felt when I watched Hidden Figures (2016). I’ll have my review up soon but I snatched it up for the LAMB Devours the Oscars feature so it’ll be posted there first.

On the Netflix front, I’ve actually been watching some TV! I started with The Good Place. Oh my God – I haven’t loved a show like this since Parks & Recreation. It grabbed me in the very first episode and I’ve already started rewatching it whilst blogging on an evening. Probably another reason as to why I haven’t watched many movies. I also binged You in 2 days whilst I was sick. It wasn’t as dark as I thought it would be but it was so entertaining. Can’t wait for Season 4!

Over the weekend I tried to get into Sex Education as it’s all everyone seems to be raving about. I’m struggling with it to be honest. It feels way too predictable and the novelty of the rudeness grew old pretty quickly. I’m tempted to stick with it for Gillian Anderson alone though – lady knows how to made a married woman question her sexuality!

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I also watched Velvet Buzzsaw (2019) at the first chance I got, like the diligent Jake Gyllenhaal fan I am. It was good – but I was kind of hoping for a bit more, some kind of dark twist or open ending…I don’t know. Well worth a watch though!

Sleep is not my friend lately. My little 1 year old seems to either have a cold or be teething constantly and I’m averaging at about 5 hours sleep a night broken up into pieces. Ugh. It’s a good job she’s cute. To be honest she’s actually pretty hilarious now she’s starting to pick up words. Her favourite right now is banana, but she can’t just say it quietly. It’s like “Daisy, would you like some banana?” “Buh……NA NAAAAAAA!” Like alright kiddo, way to make the strangers think we never feed you.

It’s the BAFTAs this Sunday! I am so excited! I’ll get some predictions put together very soon just for fun. Joanna Lumley is hosting again like last year, although I missed last year’s ceremony so I didn’t get to see if she was actually any good. No one can replace Stephen Fry, but I have faith that Lumley is a good substitute otherwise she wouldn’t have been invited back.

Tonight I think I’m out to see How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World (2019), and I’ll probably try and catch Alita: Battle Angel (2019) later this week. What are you guys hoping to see this week?