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Movies to look out for in 2017

January 13, 2017 by Bel 1 Comment

After seeing Star Wars: Rogue One the other day, which technically is a 2016 movie, I decided it might be exciting to look at what is being released in 2017. As you probably know, I absolutely love movies. I try hard to keep up with new releases at the cinema but unfortunately being a mum and working for myself, often get in the way. While there wasn’t as many movies to look forward to as I expected, here’s what I found.

January

A Monster Calls is by far the movie to look out for at the beginning of the year. I have to admit it wasn’t even on my radar until Megan told me she was reading the book at school, then I noticed there was a film release by the same name. When we went to the cinema to see Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, I saw a trailer and I was sold. I have to say, I still don’t know an awful lot about the storyline but I’d definitely like to see it. Otherwise, I don’t know anything about the other movies being released in January though I have seen previous XXX movies and I’m not fussed about Underworld.

February

Another quiet month is February, with the only movie we’re likely to see being The LEGO Batman movie. Again I don’t know a huge amount about the movie and I wasn’t even a massive fan of the Lego Movie, but Lily is massively into Batman right now and Chris always has been so I have a feeling we’ll be squeezing that into our half term. Fifty Shades Darker is also another major movie out that month but it doesn’t hold any interest for me.

March

Maybe I’m just not very up on new movies but March also seems quiet for movies I want to see. My top pick by far is Beauty and the Beast, even though I’m skeptical about the Live Action version. Disney’s animated version is my absolute favourite movie and so while I may hold my breath whilst watching, I still can’t wait to see it. Also on the list for March is Logan as a possibility. I do love Hugh Jackman, especially as Wolverine so this will be a consideration. There is a Power Rangers movie out that I’m sure will be popular, as might Ghost in the Shell but again, no interest.

April

Just in time for Easter holidays, is yet another Smurf movie. This is called Smurfs: The Lost Village and while I did enjoy the other two movies, there is no Neil Patrick Harris in these so I’m not sold yet. Sadly there is nothing else that grabs me for April either! There is yet another Fast and the Furious movie out this month but sadly I gave up watching them some time ago.

May

Guardians of the Galaxy Vol 2 is out in May and this could well be the only movie I want to see in May. I loved the first Guardians of the Galaxy and I am a huge superhero movie fan (especially Marvel) so this will be a must. I have no idea what it will be like but fingers crossed it will be good and not a terrible sequel. I notice also that there is an Alien movie – Alien: Covenant – but I’ve heard nothing about that and can only assume it’s connected somehow to the Alien movies by it’s title. There is also another PotC movie out, Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales but I have to admit I haven’t even seen the last one yet, despite liking the first couple. There is a Baywatch movie too but… well no comment.

June

Wonder Woman is out in June and while I haven’t seen Batman Vs Superman yet (nor am I in any rush) from what I can understand, Wonder Woman stood out as much as Spider Man did in Captain America: Civil War. Lily is massively into the DC girls at the moment so depending on it’s rating, we may see it with the kids. However Chris has also always been into DC more than Marvel so I’m sure we’ll be going no matter what. Chris mentioned seeing The Mummy but I don’t really understand it as a movie. Is it a re-make of the first one or just a movie by the same name? Also Tom Cruise is in it so…
Cars 3 is also out in June but I haven’t seen Cars 2 yet, despite owning it on DVD! I’m definitely not as into the Cars/Planes movies for Pixar as I am some of their others but no doubt Cars 3 will get seen, even if its not at the movies. June is clearly THE month for movies, even if not great ones. Despicable Me 3 is also out, as is Transformers: The Last Knight. I liked Despicable Me (the first one) but not so much 2 and I’ve always been a Transformers fan but I didn’t see the last one at the cinema and so I doubt I will see this one there either.

July

As I mentioned in June about Wonder Woman, the new Spider Man definitely stood out in his role in CA:CW. I loved Tobey Maguire as Spider Man and while I had mixed feelings about re-casting, I liked Andrew Garfield too (though I still haven’t seen The Amazing Spider Man 2). I’m really hoping this new Spider Man: Homecoming movie will be great, but even if not there will be a few minutes of Robert Downey Jr and so that’s a win. Apparently there is an Untitled Disney Movie set for this month too (Live Action) so I’m sure that’s something we’ll be keeping an eye out for!

August

There is absolutely nothing scheduled for August that grabs me as a must-see movie, or even a maybe see movie. In fact, something called The Emoji Movie is coming out and that just makes me roll my eyes.

September

There is nothing in September either, though an Untitled Sony Animation vaguely has my interest. There seems to be a Flatliners remake and I’m not sure how I feel about that either.

October

Despite not thinking there would be another Saw movie out, Saw: Legacy is being released in October. That said, I never have and never will see a Saw movie at the cinema, despite loving them, as I’d be too scared about freaking out. Instead we will likely wait for it to arrive on DVD. Nothing else grabs me, especially Blade Runner and Cloverfield sequels (or remakes?). There is a My Little Pony movie which, if desperate, we may see with the kids.

November

Thor: Ragnarok is out in November and since he didn’t star in the most recent Captain America movie, I’m definitely having Thor withdrawal. That said, I didn’t see Thor 2 for ages after it was released and November can be a little busy so I guess we’ll have to see. Also out in November is Justice League and while I really want to love it (and see it of course), I have huge concerns as to the quality of some of the more recent DC movies, namely Man of Steel and Batman Vs Superman.

December

Not a huge Star Wars fan but Star Wars VIII is out and we are bound to go see it as Chris loves Star Wars. Pitch Perfect 3 is out too and I LOVE the Pitch Perfect movies. December is a little unfortunate in timing as we’re always busy but hopefully we’ll make time. I believe there is also an Untitled WB movie due out in December but no doubt more will be released about that nearer the time. There is also Jumanji which I’m sure will be popular generally but probably won’t be something we see.

If anyone has any recommendations, about any I haven’t mentioned, I would love to know. I don’t keep as up to date on movies as I would like to at the moment so I’m always happy to learn more!

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Day 2: LFCC – London Film and Comic Con (July 11th-13th)

July 16, 2014 by Bel Leave a Comment

Yesterday when I started my post about LFCC, I had fully expected to write about all three days in one post. However the more I wrote, the more I realised it would be better as separate posts. So if you’d like to read about my Friday, and Preview Evening at LFCC, you can read my Day 1: LFCC post here.

Today I want to focus on the Saturday – by far my favourite day of the whole weekend. The five people in our group, had all agreed to dress up. As Amy had decided to be Ariel, after much thought, I decided to go as Vanessa – Ursula in disguise. My brother and his girlfriend decided to go as Han Solo and Princess Leia, while my partner Chris went as Greed from Fullmetal Alchemist.

I got up at 7am and jumped straight into the shower. I knew it would take me a while to get ready and we wanted to be out of the Travelodge around 8am. Once I was showered, I got straight into my costume and this is pretty much how I looked:

Next I moved onto my makeup. Since Vanessa doesn’t really wear makeup (or at least she doesn’t seem to) so I kept mine fairly basic. I’m not really one for lots of makeup anyway to be honest, so I preferred it that way.

Once everyone was ready, we set off for Hounslow again. While we waited on the platform, we took a group selfie. When we got on the tube, we took another. It was actually great fun, getting on the tube all dressed up – especially as no one really batted an eyelash.

On the next carriage over, there was another group of cosplayers, all dressed up in DC Comic themed costumes. There was The Joker, The Riddler and Harley Quinn. When we arrived at Earls Court, the first thing that hit us was just how much busier it looked today, than it had the night before. As we walked towards Earls Court 2, the queues looked huge (and chaotic) and we knew it was going to be some time before we actually got into the building! However Optimus Prime and all the other Transformers were outside the building and this time I wasn’t going to miss photographing them!

Eventually we found where we were supposed to queue. We had Early Bird tickets and the queue ran up one way and then back the other, but it didn’t seem so bad. We started to queue at around 9am but it soon became obvious that we would be queuing a long time. Though it had appeared to be a short line, the queue in actual fact went right around the building, way further than you could see. It was actually about 10.30am before we got inside of the convention hall. Even then, it was obvious to see that it was much busier than the night before, so we quickly wandered around to see whose autographs we might want, grabbing a VQ ticket. I got 176 for Anthony Head and 726 for John Hurt. Chris also got one for Casper Van Dien. I would have loved to also meet Jamie Bamber, T.J. Thyne, Edward James Olmos, Jenna Coleman, and Milo Ventimiglia, but unfortunately funds couldn’t run to that! Instead we then wandered off around the stalls, popping back every now and again to check what numbers our VQs were at.

The rest of the day isn’t so much of a step by step guide, but instead a vague relay of what happened. Chris met Casper Van Dien, we both met Anthony Head. Our group split up for the majority of the day, but every now and again, especially when it got too warm in the building, we’d all meet up outside and sit in the shade for a while. We had lunch, we checked out the West Brompton building and then we wandered around some more. There were definitely parts of the day when I wished we could go home and change. I loved my costume but it was just such a warm day that I wanted to trade it in for my jeans and a t-shirt. We also had to hang around for the Game of Thrones screening and commentary at 7pm, so it did feel like a bit of a wait at times.

At around 5.30pm, after checking John Hurt’s queue loads of times, it was finally my turn to queue! It felt a little rushed and almost like we were being herded into the autographing area, but at that point I didn’t care. I was about to meet Mr Ollivander!

I have to admit I went a little fan girl after meeting John Hurt! It was a long day and he wasn’t personalising autographs, but I still got to say how nice it was to meet him and he said it was nice to meet me too and then we shook hands. I almost skipped out of the signing booth!

By that point, the convention was starting to wind down for the day. Amy and I ran around taking shots of all the different celebrities, as the queues to meet them died down. Afterwards everyone had to leave the hall, but we re-queued as we needed to get back in for the GoT screening. Again it was another long queue and while it was supposed to start at 7pm, it was actually 7.30pm before everyone was even seated.

Even then it was 7.45pm before anything actually got started. We watched an episode of GoT, with a commentary from Finn Jones, Kristian Nairn and Daniel Portman. It was pretty fun but at the same time there were moments that just felt a little awkward. I also thought it was a bit of shame that Showmasters had advertised a Special Guest and then it was just a Joffrey piñata. That said, it was an awesome piñata and now I want one!

The screening finally finished around 9pm. We had friends waiting outside for us – two of which had been to the Harry Potter Studio that day, the other of which had caught the train up just to meet up with us. We all headed back to the tube and then back to Hounslow. There we got Pizza Hut and KFC for dinner before heading back to the Travelodge. Outside the hotel, we got chatting to someone who was running a stall at Comic Con. We also saw Optimus Prime in the car park again! Finally though, we all headed to bed, knackered from an exhausting day and ready for another the next day!

Day 1: LFCC – London Film and Comic Con (July 11th-13th)

July 15, 2014 by Bel 1 Comment

Although I want to carry on with my #LincsBlogMeet company focus posts, I am absolutely desperate to tell you all about my amazing weekend. The weekend just gone was London Film and Comic Con by Showmasters and I really had one of the best times of my life!

Many months ago, Amy and I decided we wanted to go to a convention, largely to dress up. When looking through all of the available options, LFCC stood out the most, due to its sheer volume of celebrities attending. Not only that but it was the furthest one away, datewise, and still had more people listed than some conventions that were happening only a few weeks away. We also noticed that over the weeks that passed, more and more celebrities were added to their “attending” page and this totally sold it for us. On top of that, Stan Lee would be attending and he has long been my hero. It was also to be his last European appearance and so if there was any doubt, this sealed the deal!

We booked our tickets, way back in February and they arrived in April. I was so super excited to actually receive them – tickets for the whole weekend and a photo shoot with Stan Lee. Originally the weekend consisted of myself, my partner Chris, Amy, my brother Chris and his girlfriend Erika. However over time it developed into being Tom and Nat for the Sunday and then eventually even our friend Jon for the Sunday too. In all honesty, I know a lot more of our friends would have liked to come but there are only so many people you can fit in a car!

In order to keep things cheap, we booked a Travelodge at Heston, planning to catch the Underground into London each day. When the numbers grew, we also swapped from taking my own car, to taking my mum’s car, which I think is slightly more fuel efficient. On top of that, we spent months planning what costumes we may or may not wear.

Finally the day was here and though I was working until 1.30pm on Friday 11th, I was so excited to finish and get on our way. We left Lincoln at about 2pm and arrived at our Travelodge around 5.30pm. We checked in and stayed only briefly, before heading to Hounslow where we would catch the Tube to Earls Court. We paid for 3 days car parking there, topped up our Oyster cards and then we were off. The car journey had been only myself, Chris, my brother and his girlfriend, as Amy was arriving a little later. When the four of us arrived at Earls Court – left via the wrong exit and walked all the way around – it was about 7.30pm and so we got straight into the convention. My brother and I headed straight over to where the Stan Lee photoshoot was as we both had tickets, but our partners went off for a walk while we were queuing.

The wait wasn’t really that long and we managed to find plenty to talk about while we queued. My brother and I were really excited to finally see Stan Lee, even though we knew it would only be for a few seconds. Just as we were about to head into the photoshoot area, Chris and Erika joined us again, both having found where the programmes were being sold. They waited though while my brother and I went in for the photo and while it was literally only 2 seconds with Stan Lee, it was actually awesome.

For a little while I walked around like a giddy girl, chuffed about how Stan Lee had said “Hi” to me as I stood beside him and how I had said “thanks” after the photo was taken. I was also incredibly pleased for how the photo came out, half expecting to look fat or be sporting a double chin.

The four of us then wandered around the convention hall, seeing who was there to offer an autograph that evening. Many people were saying it was the best time to meet people and get their autographs as they had a lot more time on a Friday night. This was true about a lot of the things that evening to be honest. We soon spotted the Game of Thrones, Iron Throne. There was absolutely no queue and so we all jumped in to get a picture!

Again, I was really pleased with the photo, thinking it came out pretty well. Everyone else seemed pleased with their photos too. The rest of the evening we spent walking around the hall, up and down each aisle, looking at all the stalls. We were well behaved and didn’t buy anything, knowing we would have a proper look over the next few days.

Amy text to say she was outside and actually the evening was drawing to an end anyway. I was excited to get outside and photo the Transformers who had been outside when we arrived. However when we got outside, the Transformers were gone. I was really disappointed but I figured they’d be back the next day and would just be sure to photograph them then! We met up with Amy and caught the tube back to Houndslow. There we decided to get food, some of us getting kebab and the others getting KFC. We ate outside on a wall near the station, before finally getting in the car and heading back to the Travelodge. There we got a wonderful surprise, spotting Optimus Prime parked in the car park!

We spotted him out of the window and quickly stopped to take some photographs. However I knocked my can of coke over in the car and since it was Mum’s car, we all panicked a bit, parked up quick and cleaned up the mess. Once we’d all dropped off our stuff in our rooms, my brother and I headed back outside to take a few more photos. We both took pictures in front of Optimus Prime, just to prove we were actually there!

Finally we headed back to our rooms and all just went straight to bed. It had been a long day, I was tired from work, the driving and of course heading straight out to comic con. We were all really excited for the next day, as it felt like it would be the main day of LFCC.

Come back tomorrow for Day 2: LFCC – London Film and Comic Con (July 11th-13th)