For this week's post I thought I'd share two of my favourite things: the film, 'Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind' and the book, 'Looking for Alaska'.
For me, books, videogames and films I love (and I mean, really love) must be watched once a year, maybe twice. That way when I watch the film or read the book, it feels, SPECIAL. There are loads of films I can watch plenty of times such as 'Dumb and Dumber' or 'Burn After Reading' and I'll still laugh but it won't feel all that special. They're just really funny films that make you curl up with laughter. Only in 'Burn After Reading' is it funny when George Clooneny stumbles across Brad Pitt in his wardrobe and shoots him in the face or when a policeman tells Harry to pull over in 'Dumb and Dumber'.
So, last Saturday I decided to pop in 'Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind' for my fourth viewing, the last time I saw it before then was last year in February! Once I started watching it nothing else mattered, it felt like Jim Carrey and Kate Winslet were just living for me. That might sound cheesy, but it did. Since I hadn't seen it in so long, I'd forgotten a lot of the scenes but of course I remembered loads. It's one of those films that captivated me from the first frame and the ending is awesome too. The soundtrack gets loads of hits from me on YouTube and it makes for lovely writing music. I may be a sucker for love stories (only some though) but what's great about 'Eternal Sunshine' is that it's original, or at least I think so. Jim Carrey plays somebody who we're not used to seeing, a mundane kind of guy who feels a little lost in the world. Not Lloyd Christmas or Ace Ventura. It's a perfect blend of uplifting scenes to melancholy emotion.
Now, it's been just about a year since I read my favourite ever book, 'Looking for Alaska' written by John Green. It's simple enough on the outside: a teenage boy goes to an Alabama boarding school and meets a girl called Alaska Young and he tells the reader about their adventures. But, it's what they get up to at Culver Creek is what's interesting and the cast is so well written and believable that I didn't want the book to end. It was one of those books that I got genuinely excited about reading later. I probably read between 50-100 pages each time I started it and when it ends, well, I wish it hadn't. There aren't many books I can think of that made me super excited to read in the day, 'The Road' and Tom Rob Smith's books spring to mind but other than those, I can't think of any. I love books, don't get me wrong but only some have affected me in such a way that 'Alaska' did.
Of course, I'm a nerd, I like videogames and one of which, 'Red Dead Redemption' also holds a place in my favourites. I mean, it's set in the dying age of the American Old West and John Marston is such a phenomenal protagonist. Like 'Eternal' and 'Alaska', I have to start and finish this at least once a year because when I do, yeah, you guessed it. Special. Mind you, 'Grand Theft Auto V' is quickly earning its place among my favourites but the online component is just so good that I can't stop playing it. I checked, I've played 272 hours online. Somebody get me a life!
This post certainly has a whiff of geekiness about it but, that's OK. I thought I'd share some of my favourite things and what makes them special to me. If you have any (you probably do) then I'd love to hear them. Oh yeah, I should mention that this doesn't apply to music. My favourite albums are: Avril Lavigne 'Under My Skin', Rise Against 'The Sufferer & the Witness' and Frank Turner 'Love, Ire & Song'. I listen to those albums ALL OF THE TIME. Some songs in those LPs do feel special though like 'Jet Lag' by Frankie T, 'How Does it Feel' by Avril and 'Behind Closed Doors' by Rise.
I also watch 'House' a lot as well. Yeah, I have a lot of favourites.
For me, books, videogames and films I love (and I mean, really love) must be watched once a year, maybe twice. That way when I watch the film or read the book, it feels, SPECIAL. There are loads of films I can watch plenty of times such as 'Dumb and Dumber' or 'Burn After Reading' and I'll still laugh but it won't feel all that special. They're just really funny films that make you curl up with laughter. Only in 'Burn After Reading' is it funny when George Clooneny stumbles across Brad Pitt in his wardrobe and shoots him in the face or when a policeman tells Harry to pull over in 'Dumb and Dumber'.
So, last Saturday I decided to pop in 'Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind' for my fourth viewing, the last time I saw it before then was last year in February! Once I started watching it nothing else mattered, it felt like Jim Carrey and Kate Winslet were just living for me. That might sound cheesy, but it did. Since I hadn't seen it in so long, I'd forgotten a lot of the scenes but of course I remembered loads. It's one of those films that captivated me from the first frame and the ending is awesome too. The soundtrack gets loads of hits from me on YouTube and it makes for lovely writing music. I may be a sucker for love stories (only some though) but what's great about 'Eternal Sunshine' is that it's original, or at least I think so. Jim Carrey plays somebody who we're not used to seeing, a mundane kind of guy who feels a little lost in the world. Not Lloyd Christmas or Ace Ventura. It's a perfect blend of uplifting scenes to melancholy emotion.
Now, it's been just about a year since I read my favourite ever book, 'Looking for Alaska' written by John Green. It's simple enough on the outside: a teenage boy goes to an Alabama boarding school and meets a girl called Alaska Young and he tells the reader about their adventures. But, it's what they get up to at Culver Creek is what's interesting and the cast is so well written and believable that I didn't want the book to end. It was one of those books that I got genuinely excited about reading later. I probably read between 50-100 pages each time I started it and when it ends, well, I wish it hadn't. There aren't many books I can think of that made me super excited to read in the day, 'The Road' and Tom Rob Smith's books spring to mind but other than those, I can't think of any. I love books, don't get me wrong but only some have affected me in such a way that 'Alaska' did.
Of course, I'm a nerd, I like videogames and one of which, 'Red Dead Redemption' also holds a place in my favourites. I mean, it's set in the dying age of the American Old West and John Marston is such a phenomenal protagonist. Like 'Eternal' and 'Alaska', I have to start and finish this at least once a year because when I do, yeah, you guessed it. Special. Mind you, 'Grand Theft Auto V' is quickly earning its place among my favourites but the online component is just so good that I can't stop playing it. I checked, I've played 272 hours online. Somebody get me a life!
This post certainly has a whiff of geekiness about it but, that's OK. I thought I'd share some of my favourite things and what makes them special to me. If you have any (you probably do) then I'd love to hear them. Oh yeah, I should mention that this doesn't apply to music. My favourite albums are: Avril Lavigne 'Under My Skin', Rise Against 'The Sufferer & the Witness' and Frank Turner 'Love, Ire & Song'. I listen to those albums ALL OF THE TIME. Some songs in those LPs do feel special though like 'Jet Lag' by Frankie T, 'How Does it Feel' by Avril and 'Behind Closed Doors' by Rise.
I also watch 'House' a lot as well. Yeah, I have a lot of favourites.