Category: muppets

My ten favourite movies and what that says about me

In reverse order, these are my all-time desert island top ten films and what I think their inclusion on this list says about me.

10. Die Hard

Why I love it:

Quite simply, Die Hard is the best action movie ever made. There is not a single fault in it and it is not tarnished by the weak points in some of the sequels. Bruce Willis kicks arse, men want to be him, women want to be with him. Alan Rickman is – as always- awesome as Hans Gruber and makes a brilliant foe for McClane to go up against. It also inspired this amazing song.

What this says about me:

I am a man. I like it when things blow up. I like watching a good man give the bad guys what they deserve. I like well written action films where you actually care about what’s happening such as Die Hard and not hastily thrown together pieces of crap like A Good Day To Die Hard (please don’t get me started on how stupid that film is).

9. Swingers

Why I love it:

Vince Vaughn is awesome. He’s one of my favourite actors despite the fact that he’s done some mediocre films. This is the first film I saw him in and he’s so money. It’s about the shallowness of one-night stands and pretending to be someone you’re not because ultimately that’s not what will get you the right person for you.

What this says about me:

I am a hopeless romantic. I want to go to Vegas.

8. The Wedding Singer

Why I love it:

DREW BARRYMORE. (She is my ideal woman but more on that another time, perhaps). It glorifies the 80s whilst mocking them slightly at the same time. It’s a lovestory where the guy gets with the girl who you want him to get with at the end in a slightly cheesy fashion but I don’t care because you get so invested in them getting together that it’s just perfect anyway. And the Somebody Kill Me Please song. And Steve Buscemi. And the old woman doing Rapper’s Delight.

What this says about me:

I am a hopeless romantic. I love music even if it’s cheesy. I love Drew.

7. Empire Records

Why I love it:

I think you fall in love with every character in this film with the possible exception of Rex Manning. It’s all about music. Only it’s not. It’s all about record stores and bringing a misfit community of kids together and helping them fulfil their dreams. Only it’s not. It’s all about sticking it to The Man. Only it’s not. It’s about all these things and more.

What this says about me:

I love the sense of belonging which this film puts across. I want to be part of something that means something. I love 90s alternative rock.

6. Hot Fuzz

Why I love this:

I giggled like a little schoolgirl the entire way through this at the cinema. It’s a film about someone understanding how to adapt themselves to the environment that they’re in whilst still at the same time being able to look after their peace lily. It’s a bromance. It’s about belonging.

What this says about me:

I giggle like a little schoolgirl at the type of humour in this film.

5. Fight Club

Why I love it:

It’s amazing. It’s a film about destroying the world but makes me feel positive about things. I’m not quite sure how that works. It’s nihilistic but hopeful. There’s that bit with the penguin in the cave where Ed Norton slides with it which has inspired an item on my bucket list. Bob has bitch tits. It’s about being manly and aggressive to understand the world which doesn’t seem like it should work. Where Is My Mind as the city explodes. It’s just so iconic. It proper blew my mind the first time I saw it.

What this says about me:

I’m angry on the inside. I want a sense of belonging. I have no idea who the right woman for me is as I think she’s the wrong woman. I don’t know. This film just kicks arse.

4. High Fidelity

Why I love it:

The book is one of my favourites and it is well adapted. It’s about music. I clearly love films about music. John Cusack is one of my favourite actors and he plays the part brilliantly, as do Jack Black and Todd Luiso.

What this says about me:

Again this suggests that I am a hopeless romantic and I always hold out hope that the girl will get with the guy in the end. This has possibly caused issues in real life. I am obsessed with music – although less so now I have got older and out of touch with the modern music bands.

3. Muppet’s Christmas Carol

Why I love it:

I love Christmas. I love the Muppets. I love A Christmas Carol. The songs are incredible. Michael Caine is incredible. Gonzo is a brilliant storyteller. The film is just so cute and lovely and never fails to put a smile on my face. It’s a ritual for me to watch this film just before Christmas every year and it will really get me in the Christmas spirit.

What this says about me:

Christmas is my favourite time of year. I will not grow up. I have a lot of faith in people and hope that they will earn redemption. I find muppets ridiculously cute.

2. The Muppets

Why I love it:

MORE MUPPETS! The film is brilliantly done. It’s completely respectful to the original muppets show/films and has some kick arse songs and great performances. I watched this film about 5 times within 2 weeks of buying the DVD and I could probably have watched it more without getting bored of it. It just makes me feel all happy inside.

What this says about me:

I love the idea that an outsider can find some way to fit in. I’m all for social inclusion and that. I love the idea of a group getting back together to put aside differences to unite and fight for one goal.

1. Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory

Why I love it:

Since I was very little, this has been my favourite film and I’m not sure that is ever going to change. I love Roald Dahl and despite the fact he wasn’t completely pleased by the film, I wouldn’t change a single thing. It really gets the flavour of the book and the performance of Gene Wilder is in my opinion one of the best ever committed to film. He is at times crazy, brilliant, evil, kind and generous – and it fits perfectly. It doesn’t seem disconnected as perhaps the Johnny Depp version sometimes does. It doesn’t feel like it needs to explain itself. It is aimed perfectly at the child viewer just as Dahl’s writing is aimed perfectly at the child reader.

What this says about me:

I will never, ever, truly grow up. I will always be a dreamer in some way. I will always hope that I will end up living in a chocolate factory and – after visiting Cadbury World earlier this year – I want it more than ever. I want to live in a world where you get rewarded for being good and knowing right from wrong rather than stealing everlasting gob-stoppers and giving them to the badman.

Conclusion:

My ideal film would be a muppets film based around music and social inclusion where the guy gets the girl in the end but aimed at children and is funny. With Drew Barrymore and explosions. Someone please make this film, many thanks.

Living on my own

This is one of those posts I meant to write ages ago but then got distracted by many things.

There are lots of things that have been distracting me since I lived on my own in fact. I seem to get caught up in awesome but largely meaningless projects, such as playing through all of the Pro Evolution Soccer games based on a pun or watching all of Battlestar Galactica so that I don’t accidentally kill people for playing in character when we play the board game.
I have been living on my own for coming up to two years now. Initially I thought the best and worst things about it were:

Best – No one steals your milk
Worst – There is no one to steal milk from when you have run out
As time went on, I realised that this things changed and that Tescos is only 5 minutes walk away so if I can’t be bothered to walk that far for milk then I clearly don’t want it enough. Which is a lot actually, but that’s largely due to laziness. However, I have also learnt that if I wake up and there is no milk for my fake Frosties then I get exceptionally grumpy.
For around 10 years after moving out of home, I had houseshared with between 1 and  4 other people at various points. There is always someone hanging out for a chat or to play a game or to “banter” with, as I believe the kids are calling it these days. I used to just call it “picking on Lewis because he was ginger*”
This is one of the things that I have missed most about living on my own. There isn’t someone around to get me out of a slump if I get into one. I have spent a lot of time just doing very little productive (see the aforementioned projected) on my own and being quite anti-social. 

As part of my new year’s resolutions mentioned on my bucket list, I am going to try to reconnect with people I haven’t spoken to enough recently and also spend more time with those around me. This is what you need to do to prevent yourself going completely crazy. 

I would say that is the main downside of living alone. The other downside I’ve found is due to having bought my flat, when things go wrong is that you have to be a Grown Up and work out who it is that you have to call or how to fix it yourself. There is no landlord to phone up and tell to fix things. 
However, having spoken to a few people who lived on their own before I did, they all said they couldn’t go back to sharing and I can see why. Having your own space is awesome. You can do whatever you want. These are some of my favourite benefits to living on your own:
  • You can go to the toilet or shower with the door open. I have no idea why this is good but it is. It makes you feel a little less enclosed, I guess.
  • You can wander around naked. Admittedly I don’t do this very often, partly because my friends Amanda and Ian moved in directly opposite me (personally I think they were stalking me very badly) and could see directly into my flat.
  • You can put up the Christmas decorations whenever you want. You don’t have to wait until Lewis has seen the Coca Cola advert or for it to be December or any other silly conventions like that.
  • You have complete control over the TV. This means there is no-one to get annoyed that you’re watching The Muppets for the 15th time.
  • No-one will take the mickey out of you when you want to listen to Avril Lavigne.

So in conclusion, I don’t think I’ll go back to sharing a home until I get married to Drew Barrymore.

* Please note that there were many other reasons why I picked on Lewis other than just his hair colour.