"Now that is a proper introduction" - Louise Banks, Arrival 'review'

Halloooooo!!

It's been a while since I last posted a review on a movie on this platform, but I've recently seen a film that I highly recommend, so what better way than to write a 'review' on it? ;)

Sunday afternoon I went to see the Arrival, starring Amy Adams, Jeremy Renner, Forest Whitaker, etc. It is about aliens arriving on this planet (hence the title) rather than invading it like, say Independence Day. Just like Interstellar it tries to connect with the audience on a more psychological level, but unlike Interstellar, Arrival actually achieves this connection. Before I go to deep into it, here's the quick overview and short synopsis.

Arrival

** spoiler free **
2016
Director: Denis Villeneuve
Cast: Amy Adams, Jeremy Renner, Forest Whitaker, ...
Lenght: 1h 56min
Genre: Mystery, Sci Fi, drama
8/10

Louise Banks is a linguist who has helped the US Army with translating information. When 12 space ships arrive all over the world, they call upon Louise again to help them and scientist Ian to communicate with the aliens in order to find out why exactly they are here. As humanity is bowing under the pressure of the unknown visitors and the world is on the brink of a 3rd world war, Louise makes a decision that can possibly seal the deal for the worlds destruction.

I left the cinema not exactly knowing how to behave anymore. All my personal issues seemed so small and trivial. Not important. Granted, they are not, but it is one of those films that puts you right back in your place: a tiny tiny tiny spot in the immeasurable universe. The question whether we are alone has never really been a question to me. But the majority of alien sci fi films depict these unknown forms of life as violent creatures whose sole purpose in life is to destroy humanity. Well, save E.T.

The aliens in Arrival are not here for an invasion, they just, well, arrive. Their role is more a supportive one and the focus is more on humanity and the personal stories of the characters, on love and loss, on communication or the lack thereof, the future, the past, heck, even on relativity and non-linear time. But mind you, it is not as scientific as Interstellar or the Martian, but it definitely has that touch to it. It is more a psychological sci fi drama, really.

The suspense is almost tangible throughout the entire film. The score is a tremendous help on this (you might want to bring earplugs), but also the fact that you don't know more than the characters. You follow main character Louise and her colleague Ian and you learn information as and when they do. You have no idea how other countries are dealing with the extraterrestrial visitors apart from what the news sources show. The film also jumps in time, which keeps you on edge and forces you to keep mind focused.

Adams delivers a tremendous performance. It's very natural and honest and very believable. And I'm just going to say this, it is one of those rolls that made me wish that I was super smart and excellent in something. There, I've said it. Moving on. Renner portays Ian, a likeable, cool scientist whose is always looking at the sky to find what is out there rather than looking around. One of the reasons why he is still single, is jokingly being said in the film. The other characters like Colonel Weber (Forest Whitaker) and agent Halpern (Michael Stuhlbarg) are not the type cast FBI agent and Army colonel dickheads who argue constantly about who thinks is right. There is no rivalry between army, FBI and scientists, but a co-operation to learn the aliens' purpose on our planet. The overall feel of this movie is how human it is.

The movie starts on a very heavy note and ends, in my opinion, on one hand quite heavy, but on the other, it has this message of hope. That no matter how bad a situation might seem (2016, ahum), there is always a reason to go and live your life and love. That a bad situation can lead to a beautiful result. That some things are worth taking the risk. How beautiful is that.

And I was actually quite fond of the aliens by the end of the movie ^^

Here are as per usual the trailer, a clip and an interview ;)

Trailer

Clip

Interview

As always, thanks for reading!
xo - Sara

Quiet on set please!! And... ACTION! (Greenwich again!?)

Hallooooooo!!

So, as I've mentioned in last week's post (if you've missed that, you can read it here ;)) I tried to take photos of film locations in Greenwich. But as it turned out, they were actually shooting that day, so the majority of Greenwich was closed off. Oh the irony. That meant going back the weekend after and sure enough, on the 5th of November, I was back in Greenwich and nothing was going to stop me now from taking those pictures!

See below what I exactly mean with 'take photos of film locations in Greenwich'.

Les Misérables (2012)

Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides (2011)

Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows (2011)

The Dark Knight Rises (2012)

The Duchess (2008)

Pretty cool uh? It took me about an hour and a half to two hours to get all the photos. The photos matching the film locations for Thor: the Dark World are yet to come ;)

Once I was done, my hands were freezing, so it was time to get a hot chocolate. And what better way to do that than in a place surrounded by books? Waterstones in Greenwich has a cute cafe so that was my final destination. Of course, I couldn't help myself not to buy a book, or two, maybe four? In my defence, one is a gift, so that doesn't really count ;)

Sunday afternoon I had all the intention of either going on a Jane Austen walking tour through London or go to the cinema. I ended up doing neither, but instead stayed indoors. I uploaded my post on time, booked my trip through the English countryside, did some boring admin stuff, you know, being a responsible grown up and all. I'm very excited for my trip though. I'm leaving 29th November til the 5th December and you can basically say that I'll be walking in the footsteps of Elizabeth Bennet. If that isn't clear but you'd like to find out, you might want to keep an eye on here. I'll be daily blogging the whole trip as per usual ;) And as it turns out, it'll also by the start of blogmas!!! Yes, I am doing that again ^^ So excited!

And that is it for this week :)

As always, thanks for reading!
xo - Sara

Ooh, the irony. Filmset in Greenwich.

Halloooooo!!

I hope you are doing weeeelll on this 43rd week of 2016! The countdown to Christmas has officially begun! Friday evening I bought my advent calendars. Yes, plural. I bought two... x) And earlier this week I also wore my Christmas jumper, because 25 days a year are just not enough to wear those cheezy jumpers.

But, for the main part of this blog post, I'll be talking about Greenwich! In last week's post you'll have read that I intended to go to Greenwich but ended up staying indoors all weekend, doing research on the films shot there. So last week Sunday I actually made my way to Greenwich! It's only 45min from where I leave from 'door to door' so in London standards: close by.

So, I got off the bus and went straight to business. The first film locations that I came across were for Now You See Me 2. The finale is set in London and a lot of those places looked really familiar when I saw the movie in theatre. Although the movies shows the places as 'spread across London', truth is, they're all filmed in Greenwich x)

The weather wasn't really nice. In fact, it was really misty. You couldn't even see the massive buildings on Canary Warf.

All the shots on the Greenwich Market and around the Cutty Sark were easy enough to find so they got shot quite quickly. But when I made my way to the Royal Naval College, I bumped into this sign:

Ooooh, the irony. I go to Greenwich to make pictures of film locations and they are actually filming there. I tried to find out what it was, but all I got was that it is for a commercial. Row upon row of trailers, massive tents, rain machines, etc. I think the production was a bit too big to be just a commercial. But then, it was set in the 1940's, so a lot of costumes and props, so it might be a commercial after all. Not sure. I'm not familiar with the production of films/commercials x)

So that means: going back to Greenwich to try again to get those shots x) Not the end of the world. In fact, I'm already looking forward to it ^^

On Monday evening I saw the Mortal Instruments, because it was halloween. Little tradition of mine. And then the rest of the week as my usual work week :)

And that is it for my week 43 of 2016!

Hope you enjoyed it and thanks for reading!
xo - Sara

Greenwich, the place where all the filming happens

Halloooooo!

Soooo, another very quiet week. And the thing is, I didn't do much during the weekend either! I had the fabulous plan of going to Greenwich to take pictures of film locations, but instead I stayed indoors, again, all weekend. Saturday with valid reason, as I was doing my research on the movies. But Sunday was pure laziness.

The work week was crazy busy, but ended in a giant party as two of my work colleagues were leaving and, I mean, a goodbye party is in order. All halloween/super hero themed of course x)

But since I don't have any pictures to share, here are the movie scenes that I was research for film locations. Have you seen any of them?

Thor: the Dark World

The Dark Knight Rises

Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides

Les Misérables

Now You See Me 2

Ooh, go on then, here are a few pictures of the leaving do :)

And this is it for this week's updated. Short 'n' sweet.

Thanks for reading!
xo - Sara

25 things every woman should have by the time she turns 25

Hallooo!!

An impromtu post in the middle of the week, because, why not?

Earlier this evening I was searching through various folders on my laptop. Deleting files I had no longer use for, rediscovering old photos and word documents and the below post is one of them.

I remember stumbling upon this post via the website Thought Catalog and saving it in a Word document on 5th June 2014 to look at and tick off as the years went by. Today, nearly 2 years and a half later, I've had another look and I'm happy to say that I can actually tick some them off. Whilst others are still a work in progress. Better hurry up, 25 is around the corner x)

1. Enough confidence to no longer feel the need to justify what she eats, who she dates or what she wears, not only to other people, but to herself.

2. A bank account with three months’ living expenses in it.

3. Only the phone numbers, Facebook friends, weekend plans, and roommates she actually wants.

4. A best friend who is like a sister.

5. A space of her own.

6. A good idea of what she needs in a romantic relationship, not just what she wants, or what she thinks she needs, and the willingness to explore different people and other ideas to find what exactly that is.

7. A closet of what she considers to be her “staples,” and among these things, something to wear to an interview, funeral, wedding, impromptu Friday night drink at a casual bar and dream date if ever someone were to call out of the blue.

8. The tact and grace to ask for a raise, a promotion, a change in a relationship or a date with someone she’s into.

9. The faith that she deserves those things.

10. A favorite coffee order, go-to restaurant for when friends visit from out of town, hairstyle that takes less than five minutes in the morning, “thank you” cards in her desk drawer, the print copy of her favorite book, and bedding that she is proud to show off.

11. A hobby that has nothing to do with drinking, shopping or somebody else.

12. The recipes for a number of easy meals memorized.

13. The desire and discipline to actually cook for herself. (Just herself.)

14. A trip she tells awesome stories about and a trip she has awesome plans for.

15. A sense that she’s let go of resenting other women for what they do or don’t have over her.

16. Enough of a healthy relationship with her body that her contentment no longer hinges on comparison, or what her partner would think.

17. At least one date in her memory with the kind of partner who wouldn’t care about those things anyway.

18. Forgiveness if she’s dated men who haven’t quite matured as quickly as women tend to in their early 20s.

19. The knowledge of what she wants in bed and the confidence to ask for it without feeling uncomfortable.

20. A drill, a non-stick pan, a credit card line nobody else has access to, a bra that she was measured for at the store and working knowledge of how to change a tire, unclog a pipe, make an investment and find shoes on the extra 40% rack.

21. A relationship with her mother, even if it’s the decision that their relationship will be at least functioning, if not familial.

22. A passport, a sturdy piece of luggage, and the ability to pack the essentials at a moment’s notice should she be offered the chance to get away for a weekend, a week, or a whole new life.

23. The following emergency kit: Tylenol/Advil, eyedrops, a tampon, hand sanitizer, a fresh pair of underwear, a travel sized toothbrush, hydrocolloid bandages for blisters, $20 cash, a condom, and Plan B.

24. Forgiveness for who she was.

25. An idea of who she wants to be

Of course, these 25 things aren't manditory, but I think they are good values to hold on to. A passport, luggage and the ability to pack the essentials at a moment's notice, no resentment, etc. They are good things to work towards :)

Can you tick off any of these?

Thanks for reading!
xo - Sara