Pretty Little Liars - What I've Learnt from Binge-Watching 5 Seasons (SPOILERS)

Tonight, my friends, is a very important night. Finally, after 120 episodes of intrigue, it seems that we are going to discover the identity of A - the man/woman/thing/team responsible for torturing our favourite Rosewood girls for five whole seasons. Spencer, Aria, Emily and Hanna have been well and truly through the mill, and we've been along for the ride. So, in honour of the big "A" reveal, I decided to put together a little post talking through my experience of watching the show, and the thoughts that popped into my head along the way.

My PLL viewing experience has been my most extreme example of binge-watching. I have consumed all five seasons in less than two months, which, quite frankly, should be shocking. The thing is, though, it actually isn't shocking at all. I've seen on twitter that lots of other people have been doing exactly the same thing since the show hit UK Netflix back in January. It is absolutely addictive viewing, and no matter how many times you tell yourself "I should go to sleep", there always seems to be time for one more episode. The need to find out who A is is just too overpowering!

This post is full to the brim of spoilers by the way. Spoilers spanning every season!! So, if you haven't watched the show and you click that little read more button, don't say I didn't warn you!

5 Reasons To Watch Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt

If you have Netflix (or, let's face it, if you have access to a computer), you've probably seen posters for Netflix's new original show, Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt. The brainchild of Tina Fey and Robert Carlock, this new comedy tells the story of Kimmy, one of four women saved from a doomsday cult, where they were trapped underground for fifteen years and told the world had ended. A teenager when she was captured, Kimmy now has to learn to get on with her life, as an adult, and chooses to do so in New York City. It's quirky and funny and utterly moreish.

Still not convinced? Here are 5 reasons to get on Netflix and check out Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt!

Images from Netflix

The Theme Tune

I'm not exaggerating when I say this is one of my favourite television show theme tunes in years. In a nod to Charles Ramsay’s interview regarding the Ariel Castro kidnapping (which you can watch here), Tina Fey and her crew have created a ridiculously catchy intro for this show. I did a bit of research there, and they actually employed The Gregory Brothers (the guys behind Songify the News) to create it. I dare you not to smile while you're listening to this.

Ellie Kemper

Whether you've seen Ellie Kemper in anything before or not, you cannot help but fall in love with her here. I was already a fan from her roles in The Office and Bridesmaids, and I love that she's the star right at the forefront of this show. She's instantly likeable and funny, and I get the feeling Kimmy is going to quickly become one of my favourite female characters on TV at the moment. Despite everything she's been through, she chooses to be positive and embrace life, and despite her slightly naive perspective, she's not short of a backbone and certainly isn't going to let herself be pushed around.

The New York City backdrop

This is always a winner for me - I LOVE shows set in New York. There's just something about the buzz of the city that pulls you in, and makes everything feel that bit more exciting. I'm still determined that I'm going to get there at some point in the next few years, but watching it on screen makes the fact I haven't been yet just that bit more bearable!

Tina Fey's Writing

Tina Fey is never anything but smart and funny. I think what makes her comedy so engaging is that there are so many casual, witty observations of real life attitudes and situations - I love the mix of the slightly bizarre aspects of this show (like the auto-tuned theme song) with nods to real cultural issues (check out some of the TV news bulletin headlines during the intro to the pilot!). There are some brilliant throwaway lines that had me laughing out loud (particularly courtesy of Jane Krakowski), which makes it oh so tempting to just put on another episode. They're only 25mins long, after all...

The Positivity is Infectious

Everything about this show, from Kimmy's brightly coloured clothes, to her determination to make a life for herself in New York just radiates positivity and happiness. I've instantly fallen for the other two main characters, her wannabe musical theatre star roommate Tituss (Tituss Burgess) and her new employer, socialite Jacqueline Voorhees (Jane Krakowski), and I may only be a few episodes in, but this show just puts a smile on my face. It's as simple as that!

Have you been watching Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt?! Let me know what you think of it in the comments below!

Thanks for reading - have a great weekend everyone!

I've Been Watching #10

Hey everyone!

While I've been uploading lots of film and tv related videos over on my channel, it's been a while since my last I've Been Watching post! So thought I would update you on what films and TV shows I've been glued to lately!

TV

Pretty Little Liars

For years now, I've been saying that I need to get into Pretty Little Liars. As a life-long teen TV drama addict, I needed something to replace the giant Gossip Girl/Veronica Mars shaped hole in my life. I still have The Vampire Diaries and The Originals, but PLL had been on my "to watch" list since it hit the screens way back in 2010. Finally Netflix added it to their ever expanding catalogue in January, and it's safe to say I'm addicted.

I cannot stop watching this show. It gets to crazy o'clock in the morning and while my head says "go to sleep", Netflix says "continue watching" and somehow my hand manages to click yes. I spend the majority of my time going "RIGHT, go to the police", but somehow that just makes it even better. This might be a teen television show, but honestly, it is much creepier than I had been expecting! I'm currently devouring season 3 (soon to be season 4), and there have been so many unexpected twists and turns along the way so far. If you can avoid reading spoilers, avoid like the plague - it makes it so much better when you have no idea what's coming!!

An added bonus is that I actually love all four of the main characters. If you have no idea what the show is about, season one kicks off a year after sixteen year old Alison DiLaurentis goes missing from her home in Rosewood, Pennsylvania. Twelve months on, her four best friends Spencer, Hanna, Aria and Emily, start receiving threatening texts and notes from the mysterious A, who knows far too many of their secrets, and is prepared to use them against them. Whether they're at home, at school, or even out of town, A knows exactly where they are, what they're doing, and what to do to hurt them the most. Cue constant fear, torment, and double crossing, with an excellent wardrobe, brilliant soundtrack, and, as always, a very attractive cast. What more could you ask for?!

P.S. I have so much love for Spencer Hastings - she's my kind of character. And, at this point (who knows how I'll feel an episode from now, never mind a season from now), I would quite like to marry Wren. It should be illegal to be that attractive.

Once Upon a Time - Season 4

My beloved OUAT is back!! Season 4b kicked off on Sunday night and I got cosy with a giant cup of tea and a donut to enjoy the new episode on Monday. It did not disappoint. I won't say too much to avoid spoiling it for anyone who hasn't seen it, but I'm loving the Queens of Darkness - particularly Cruella at this point. I'm intrigued to see where they're going with this, and I have a feeling (having seen some promo photos for upcoming episodes) it's going to complicate things for Emma, but we'll see. Still loving the Emma/Killian scenes, very nicely done in this episode, and Robert Carlyle will never cease to amaze me. He is just brilliant.

Films

The Theory of Everything

After all this time, I finally went to see The Theory of Everything at the weekend. Roisin and I accepted that this would be a situation where you leave the cinema having had a good cry, and while I think our makeup actually faired pretty well, it really was an emotional couple of hours.

Eddie Redmayne's performance was absolutely incredible - he thoroughly deserved that Oscar, and all the other recognition he has had for playing Steven Hawking. Felicity Jones was excellent too, and while the film obviously deals closely with what Steven is facing, a huge part of the story is what Jane, his wife, went through, and she handled it beautifully. If you haven't seen it yet, I would definitely recommend seeing it at some point if you have the chance - it's an amazing film, about an amazing couple, and it has made me even more determined than ever to get around to reading A Brief History of Time!

Tiny Furniture

And last for today, we have Tiny Furniture, a Lena Dunham film I found on Netflix a few weeks ago. For any recent graduates, this is a must see. It's a quiet film, and nothing too dramatic happens along the way, but it really does reflect what life can be like when you leave the cosy bubble of the university or college environment and have to try to figure out what to do next. Dunham's character Aura moves back in with her mum and her sister, and struggles with career decisions, friendships, relationships, and mostly just wants to hide under her duvet, which is somewhere I think we've all been (unless you're one of the rare few who managed to get a job straight out of uni!). As I said, this isn't an intense or life changing film, but it is certainly a comforting one if you have found yourself in Aura's shoes. It's one of the things I love most about Film and TV (and books) - you can always find someone to relate to, whatever your situation is, and that in itself can make things just a little bit easier.


That's it for today - I hope you enjoyed this and I would definitely recommend checking out all of the above! Next on my must see list are the live action Cinderella, which comes out at the end of the month, continuing on with my PLL binge, and getting properly started on Parks and Recreation - all the love for Amy Poehler.

What have you been watching recently?

Thanks for reading! :)

I've Been Watching #6

All films and no tv this week - who am I?! This week I've been reliving my youth and embracing my love for chick flicks - although one film in the above collage certainly didn't fit into that category as much as I had expected it to. So let's revisit my viewing material from the past week...

The Princess Diaries and The Princess Diaries 2 - Royal Engagement

I was worryingly excited when I realised that The Princess Diaries (one of my favourite childhood films) and the sequel are both on Netflix, - I had only ever seen the second film once, so I embraced the opportunity for a double bill. My memory did not serve me too well, however, as I seemed to think I hadn't particularly enjoyed the sequel - this time around I loved it.

There's something dangerous about watching your favourite childhood films after going years without seeing them, because while some live up to the fond memories, others let you down. The rose tinted glasses you have on when you remember your favourite kids show or movie can make watching them disappointing, because you're now watching them in a totally different context, and through adult eyes. Much to my relief, this was not one of those occasions! I totally related to Mia as a teen, being the shy, incapable of talking to the opposite sex type, and I think every little girl dreamed of having that princess makeover. When I was watching it, half way through I found myself thinking "is this a really terrible representation of growing up, telling a young girl that if she's a bit awkward and geeky, with tough to tame hair and glasses she's not good enough to be a princess?". But as it progressed, I remembered that the whole point of the film is that through this transitional period Mia learns that the most important thing is to be herself, an important life lesson for anyone. Also, it might just have the most perfect ending to a teen/preteen movie ever; the soundtrack, the dress, the ball, the kiss... perfection. I'm 25 and I can quite honestly say, I'd still kill for a night like that. Escapism at its best.

The second film was so much better than I had remembered! I also forgot that a very youthful Chris Pine starred opposite Anne Hathaway this time around. Mia's ready to take her place as queen of Genovia, but an outdated, sexist law that states a woman can only be crowned queen after she is married gets in the way. Cue the search for a husband and plans for an arranged marriage. As an avid fan of the books, I think the second film bothered me because they split Mia and Michael up, and at the time I was not okay with that. With some distance from the situation, however, I can appreciate that the film was a perfect example of what it is - a daft, romantic sequel to a story about a girl who grows up feeling like a nobody and discovers she's a princess. It's cute, it's funny and it passes a couple of hours quite nicely. Once again I was loving the music over the credits at the end, and horrified myself when I discovered that the track I was dancing around to was by none other than Lindsay Lohan - but I know you guys won't tell anyone...

Beauty and the Briefcase

Ohhh dear. I never thought there would be a romantic comedy that would defeat me - I constantly defend this genre, and I can usually sit through even the cheesiest, most over the top romcoms without wanting to switch them off, but this almost got the better of me! Beauty and the Briefcase (an ABC original movie which is now available on Netflix), stars Hilary Duff as Lane, a wannabe journalist looking for love and her dream job at Cosmo magazine amongst the buzz of New York. You'd think it was just like any other run of the mill romcom, right? Well, it is, except that it is really, really terrible. In terms of other movies, one I'd say it's most akin to is Confessions of a Shopaholic, except that I actually liked Confessions of a Shopaholic; Isla Fisher was likeable, and the story was daft but made sense. I hate saying this because much like The Princess Diaries, I actually only put this on because I liked Hilary Duff when I was a child, but I'd be lying if I say there weren't a myriad of things that bothered me about this film. The acting was poor, the structure was dreadful (more on that in a second) and do not even get me started about the bizarre sexism - a feminist critic would have a field day with this one. I lost count of the number of shots of Lane as the "only girl in an office full of men", who are leaning out of their cubicles with their tongues hanging out of their mouths, getting distracted from their important, businessman work by her tight skirt, while the two or three other women in the office might as well be wearing bin bags. Because, y'know, if you're a woman in the business world you're probably uptight, unfashionable and unfanciable.

In order to avoid spoilers, I won't bother with specifics when it comes to structure, but all I'll say is that for a film that lasts an hour and twenty five minutes, this one wasted a disproportionate amount of time on the wrong storyline. Most films have a beginning, a middle and an end, and this one seemed to have an incredibly long middle, with a rushed end tagged on without much thought having been given to it. But that's just my opinion, I'm sure there are plenty of people who did enjoy it, so if you love a cheesy romcom, it's always worth watching the first ten minutes to see what you think!

Thanks for Sharing

And the surprise of the year goes to... Thanks for Sharing! This film genuinely surprised and impressed me. I went in with an already formed opinion, which is never the way to go! I knew it was a film in which Mark Ruffalo plays a recovering sex addict named Adam - from The Princess Diaries to this, talk about genre hopping - and I knew that Pink was in it. I had decided it would be one of those comedies that uses something controversial (sex addiction, in this case), to make people talk about it, and it would probably end up with a couple of couples falling in love, and a few awkward laughs at the expense of Adam et als' "lack of control". It really wasn't. It kind of reminded me of Friends with Kids - one of those films you go in expecting to spend two hours laughing at, but in fact find that it has a much darker undertone than you were expecting. I doubt it's going to be nominated for an Oscar any time soon, but I actually feel like this did a good job of highlighting the genuine, daily struggle of an addict, whatever they're addicted to. There are some pretty disturbing moments in it - again, I want to leave this spoiler free, but if you've seen it I'm sure you know what scene I'm referring to! I was also pretty impressed with Pink/Alecia Moore. While she doesn't get a huge amount of screen time, her very first scene was acted really, really nicely. I'm giving this one a big thumbs up as something that genuinely surprised me, and it's definitely something to check out. I wasn't really a fan of Gwyneth Paltrow's character, which was a pity because it put a bit of a dampener on that particular storyline for me, but otherwise this is worth a watch.

Now I must go and get on with my dissertation, but I do hope that you enjoyed that, and be sure to let me know if you've seen any of the above! Thanks for reading!

I've Been Watching #4

Starting as I mean to go on with my 'I'm going to talk about film and tv because I like to talk about film and tv' plan, here's another I've Been Watching! I think it's safe to say that when I'm not writing my dissertation or catching up with my friends to bore them with chat about my dissertation, I'm combatting the monotony of job hunting by watching lots and lots of my favourite things.



Once Upon A Time

I've been binge watching Once Upon a Time this week, and I really am "hooked" (Get it? Being as witty as I am is a curse, I tell you. Obligatory photo above of Captain Hook who I may or may not spend the majority of my viewing time swooning over). I adored season 1 and watched it when it was on Channel 5, but for one reason or another I managed to lose track of it round about episode five of season 2. This has now been rectified as Emma got me the seasons 1 and 2 boxset for my birthday, and I have been devouring it on a daily basis since. It is amazing. For anyone who enjoys fairy tales (take a look at my blog header and you'll see I'm a fan!), this show is an absolute must watch. It's also the creation of two of the brilliant brains behind Lost (Edward Kitsis and Adam Horowitz), which made me pretty certain I'd be on board from the start. It has a lot of really nice little similarities to Lost, with the dual worlds and the story flashing between one world/timeline and another. It also has a few of the same cast members, with Lana Parilla (minor role in Lost, but major role as the Evil Queen here), Emilie de Ravin, Jorge Garcia and Alan Dale all appearing already. Speaking of the cast, they are amazing. I'm a big Jennifer Morrison fan, and she is amazing as Emma, but every single cast member plays their part to perfection. It also has some fantastic, kick ass female characters which I really love - they've taken the lovely but often passive female characters from the Disney-style takes on fairy tales, and changed them up into really feisty, powerful women. I honestly cannot get enough of this show. Or Colin O'Donoghue/Captain Hook/Killian Jones...

New Girl - Season 3

I've only watched two episodes so far, so haven't got too much to say on it yet, but we all know I love New Girl. Nick and Jess are one of my favourite on-screen pairings, and the chemistry between the cast is electric. HOWEVER. What are they doing to Winston?! Writers, what's going on here?! I can honestly say that in season two, the references to Winston's uselessness when it comes to pranks were some of the funniest moments of the show - there's a scene between him and Schmidt that makes me cry with laughter every time I watch it (the bear in the restaurant plan, New Girl fans?! I'm laughing just thinking about it!). But in the past two episodes he seems to have gone from the sort of sensible one, who would always call Schmidt out on his nonsense, and give Nick a kick when he needs it, to a slapstick idiot, who has lost his grip on reality. I get the feeling the positive reaction they got to those scenes in season two made the writers decide to kick it up a notch, but for me, it just doesn't work, and actually puts me off watching a wee bit *cries*. That being said, I still love the show, and still love Nick and Jess's banter. Must catch up on episodes three and four soon.

24: Live Another Day

I won't say too much on this, since I mentioned it before, but after episode ten I couldn't very well not talk about it. 24: Live Another Day is knocking it completely out of the park - it is fully insane. Honestly, I was on the edge of my seat for the whole episode; it's actually quite exhausting viewing. I don't want to spoil this for anyone, so won't say anything specific, but the level of terror threat in this series is actually mind-blowingly scary. You're watching it, knowing it's a television drama, but it still sends chills down your spine. I think Kiefer Sutherland is playing it beautifully though, as he always does. Poor Jack has had quite a life. I love Jack Bauer, I really do. I simultaneously cannot wait to watch the next episode, and I'm frightened to watch it, because that will mean there's only one left!! I've missed it, and it feels like it's come and gone again too quickly.

Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist

Another reason to celebrate having Netflix, I watched this little gem a couple of weeks ago. I've wanted to see it for ages - I haven't actually read the book, but I read and enjoyed "Dash and Lily's Book of Dares" last year, which is a similar YA sort of story from the same authors. If you've got a couple of hours to spare, and you just want to lose yourself in a cute, sort of predictable, but easy going romantic movie, give this a shot. The entire story happens over the course of one night, and we watch the relationship between Nick and Norah (who have just met) take a few twists and turns along the way. It's not going to win multiple awards for life changing movie of the year any time soon, but it brightened up my evening, and I thought Michael Cera and Kat Dennings worked really well together on screen. One downside - I could not STAND Nick's ex-girlfriend, which I know is entirely the point, but still. She drove me well and truly up the wall!

Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close

I bought this on DVD for my mum for her birthday or Christmas last year, but neither she and my dad, nor I, had got around to watching it, and I had forgotten we even had it. One of my friends was talking about it recently though, and he urged me to watch it, saying it was amazing. Sitting down to watch it one evening last month, I tweeted that it was my choice of film for the night, and instantly got messages from friends and followers on twitter saying "get your Kleenex ready'', with one of my friends saying she cried so much watching it her boyfriend's mum thought they were breaking up! Suffice to say, I was concerned about how I would react. Did I cry? You bet I did. I cried bucketloads. But it was absolutely worth it. The film follows a young boy named Oskar (Thomas Horn) in the aftermath of his father's death in the 9/11 attacks. He attempts to deal with his grief, and struggles to let go, causing a rift to form between him and his mum (Sandra Bullock), as we follow him on a journey to hold on to the remaining connection he has to his dad (Tom Hanks). I won't say any more than that since that's about as much as you get from the trailer, but it is a beautiful, sad, hopeful story about family, grief and moving on, and I would recommend it in a heartbeat.

Have you seen any of these shows/films? I'd love to know what you thought! Or let me know what you'd recommend I check out next!

Thanks for reading!

All images sourced on my Pinterest board!