Ace in the Hole/The Great Beauty

Back to movies today, after a slew of weeks playing games with Louis I decided that my 'films to watch' backlog was becoming more of a 'backclog.' Puns aside though I'll dive in for some mini reviews.

Ace in the Hole proved to me once again that Kirk Douglas was really ahead of the game when he was big way back in the 50's. There is a certain darkness and pessimism about his characters which is so untypical of other films from that era and probably why his performances are so captivating for their time. Pair Douglas with Wilder and you are going places. This day-light noir was a knock-out and highlighted the extreme lengths some reporters will go to for a good story.

One of my favourite things in films are intelligent people without happiness in their lives. If you share this (admittedly unusual) fondness of theme with me then The Great Beauty is probably for you. Highlights include scenes where characters attend abstract, surreal and crap exhibitions on what some people consider art. The look on peoples faces as they try to justify their understanding of what is unfolding is spot on, as is the camera work which does wonders with the gorgeous city of Rome. It's final act does drag however as it is generally devoid of the kind of dialogue that makes the other half so deliciously cynical and watchable. 

Earwax Woes

Added another Nerf gun to my arsenal. Preparing myself mostly for the inevitable foam assaults I'll be enduring next year with my housemates and I want to be well armed when that happens. That said, I'm so stocked that I'll have to hand them out in order for there to be any competition - It's gonna be a fun third year though!

With a bit of help from Mum, I started progress on softening and removing some of my earwax build-up. More and more recently I've noticed an odd pressure sensation in my ear, similar to going on an airplane so I am trying out some drops that soften the earwax. So I sat on my side watching Come Dine with Me as I waited for the drops to do their stuff. I really hope they do some good in the long run.

Louis and I also finished Band of Brothers today. As the credits rolled I was filled with the same wave of satisfaction I was after I first saw it and it was comforting to know that Louis was probably feeling exactly the same thing I was.  

Towels

Treated once again to some of my Grandma's home-made hot-cross buns. You can only get them once a year and they are secretly one of those things I really anticipate each Spring. They are sticky beyond belief though (which is part of their magic) which is probably why wet towels were passed around at the end of breakfast; my puds were like delicious glue! Oddly enough however, that was the first of two times moist towels were passed around a table as we snuck in a Indian lunch before heading back home to my lovely bed.

Happy Easter 2015

A rather cool looking Easter Egg appeared in front of me today. It's wearing sunglasses and looks like its wearing some beats by dre headphones. Guess Mum thought that's what I do in my spare time when she bought it for me.

Lunch was huge today! Dad brought along 3.8kg of pork, we probably managed to get through about a quater of tat today with the promise of many piggy sandwiches in the future. I also endevoured to go for an Easter Sunday stroll with the family. Initially I was reluctant and offered Mum a challenge: Beat me at the Dragon's Fury pinball game and I'd go on the walk. However after Grandad tuned into Songs of Praise I decided to bail pretty quickly and just go on the walk. We went up and down a small park in Orpington which Louis and I used to go to a fair bit when we were a lot younger. Nice to see the place hadn't changed much and it served as a literal stroll down memory lane, which is always nice.

I also remembered that it was this time last Easter Sunday that I was asked to help produce the war film I made with a handful of coursemates. Looking back on that moment I would say that was the turning point regarding my university enjoyment. I got a lot more involved and known within my course as a result and just really felt a lot more accepted by my peers which was a lovely feeling. Similarly I recall being out there in the trenches for that one day and I just got a real confirming feeling that I was doing something I loved. 

Haven't actually cracked into any of my eggs just yet but I will certainly be tucking in tomorrow when I get back home in front of Netflix. I'll try to pace the chocolate consumption this year, stuffed myself silly in the past and always regretted it.

Saturday Armchair

Find myself once again my favourite armchair at my grandparents house. Been treated to some cheese scones and a very tasty 3 bird roast dinner. Grandma really know how to make a good meal and it's always a pleasure to come down here to get some grub - Easter Sunday holds a lot of promise for even more meat and gravy. Especially since I've seen the bit of pork we bought with us from Newbury; it's bigger than my head.

Potential Perfection

Been working my way towards psyching myself up for some script writing today for our uni group project. I realise that possibly the greatest thing holding me back is the fear of imperfection. Now I know that probably sounds really narcissistic, but let me break it down a tad to hopefully make me again seem more humble.

Whenever I work on a project like a film I always want it to be the best it can possibly be. As a general rule, this is a brilliant mentality to have because you always push yourself for what could be an excellent product. My problem is that I let the poisonous thought of 'is it really good enough' plague my mind. I take a very long time to write most things because I am often in combat with this thought a lot of the time and can only bring myself to muddle through a handful of sentences only after they have been processed with a lot of love and care; then I doubt that too.

Eventually I get into a groove and I remind myself that 'all good writing is just re-writing.' But its always in that initial stage I feel unsatisfied with whatever I'm working on because I tend to focus on all the ways it could turn into a train-wreck because it isn't good enough. I will muddle through this one until I'm happy with it, 90% of the time I have an epiphany moment about a project, it's just getting to that point which is hard.  

Nostalgic Smash

Seeing as I am back for Easter I thought that it would be a good opportunity to do the things I wouldn't normally be able to if I was in Bournemouth. I called up Dan yesterday to see if he was back, few hours later and we were back doing what we do best: playing video games together. Aside from Louis, he is my official Smash Bro, especially after we played nothing but Brawl for 30 hours straight way back in 2008. The new Smash 4 just didn't feel complete until we played a few round together today. When Louis joined in it felt just like old times.